A Different Beginning
by composingmythoughts
Summary: Upon encountering Bella that first day of school, Edward runs away to Alaska for a week... but then, doesn't come back.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Welcome to my new story! :-) I'm rather excited about this one, it's definitely been fun to write thus far. A brief synopsis, this picks up after Bella's first week of school. Edward runs away to Alaska for a bit to get away, but this is what would've happened (in my opinion) if he hadn't come right back to Forks.

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer, and I do not own any of the Twilight Saga or it's characters ... I'm just playing with them a bit. Enjoy!

**Chapter 01**

Bella's POV

My first week in Forks had now passed, and I was slowly forming a routine. Charlie was so easy to live with; I took care of the cooking and the cleaning for the most part, and he gave me my space. Upon leaving Phoenix, my mother had demanded daily phone calls, but I knew her much too well; I had only called her once my entire first week and she had yet to call me herself. She was too scatterbrained to remember the demand she had made, and I was allowed a little more freedom.

I sat with Jessica, Angela, Mike, Eric, Tyler, Lauren and co. at lunch every day, yet my eyes always strayed to the Cullen table. I couldn't help reflecting on Edward Cullen's mysterious actions on my first day; he still had not returned to school, and I couldn't help but feel responsible for his prolonged absence, especially because of the hatred radiating from the eyes of his family. Of course, the tiny brunette never looked upset, but the blonde – I believe Jessica had called her Rosalie? – had more than enough disdain for me to make up for the others' indifference.

Mike was overly chivalrous, and under any other circumstances this would have bothered me. However, after the negative attention from Edward Cullen, followed by his disappearance, it was comforting to see that he was apparently the _only_ male who wasn't excited by my arrival in Forks. This was a particularly shallow thought for me, but I chalked it up to my anxiety about being in a new place.

"Your throne, milady," Mike said with a smile, pulling out my chair for me and setting my tray down on the table. He had taken to carrying my stuff whenever possible; probably some male display of dominance. He was marking his territory against his competitors, the biggest of whom seemed to be Tyler and Eric. I wasn't enjoying the attention all that much, but I did enjoy the fact that I hadn't had to eat my lunch in my truck, the bathroom, or someplace equally lonely and humiliating.

"Oh that's so thoughtful of you," Jessica muttered, every word dripping with malice, though Mike took no notice. He noisily slid a chair right up next to mine and threw himself down. He rested one arm along the back of my chair; Jessica stared daggers at me, no doubt willing me to spontaneously combust.

"So I've got some juicy gossip for ya'll," Mike said, a wide grin on his face. Everyone but me leaned forward expectantly. "Apparently, Edward Cullen is gone for good." A gasp rang around the table and Mike grinned, no doubt reveling in his momentary fame. "Yeah, rumor has it that he's gone to live with a cousin of Dr. Cullen's up in Alaska. He transferred a week ago, but they've been keeping it quiet."

All eyes turned to the Cullen table, which was now permanently down to four. They were all occupied in their own conversation, but to me it didn't seem _real_; almost like they were making a valiant effort to _appear_ normal.

"I wonder why?" Jessica asked, her face crestfallen.

"I dunno," Mike replied. "I think maybe Bella scared him off," he teased, ruffling my hair. My eyes were still on the Cullen table, and at his words, all four members of the family visibly stiffened. But, no, it couldn't have been what he said; they were much too far away to hear us. Surely something else must've been causing their rigid posture. As ridiculous as the idea was, I still couldn't help but feel like Mike's joke was true.

"Bella, you look so sad," Jessica said with a sneer. "I _told_ you not to bother with the Cullens… they're too _good_ for us common folk."

"'Bother with the Cullens'?" Mike repeated, choking on his soda.

"Yeah, I think Bella had a little crush on Edward," Jessica sneered once more.

"Edward's a freak," Mike said harshly, and then regained his composure, "but it's not like it matters much. He's gone for good." It sounded like he was trying to reassure himself with these words.

Lunch passed rather quickly as I detached myself from the conversations flowing around me and focused on this news. Edward's initial reaction to me didn't matter anymore; he was gone. He could've been the friendliest person I encountered in Forks my first day of school, but it still wouldn't matter in the slightest. Blaming myself for his disappearance would only drive me mad, and I couldn't await his return to be proven wrong, because it was very likely that he was never_ going_ to return.

"Bella!" Mike was soon shouting rather loudly in my ear. "I _said_ the bell just rang… didn't you hear it?"

"Um, no, sorry, I must've been daydreaming," I said, rising to my feet. I reached for my backpack and tray, but Mike already had them both.

"I've got this," Mike said with a smile, carrying my tray off toward the garbage, one backpack slung on each shoulder.

"Thanks," I said with a smile. Annoying as he might be on occasion, I had to admit that sometimes it was a real comfort to have Mike around. I felt a little bit more at home in Forks, knowing there was someone other than my father watching my back. We headed off to Biology, darting quickly from one building to the next to avoid the rain.

Once we had walked into the Biology classroom, Mike approached Mr. Banner and asked if he could sit beside me, offering the information of Edward's indefinite leave of absence and suggesting that he could help me get settled and caught up with the routine. His motives were laughable; it was already clear to me that he wasn't the best science student the school had ever seen. Miraculously, Mr. Banner allowed a temporary seat change, and Mike gleefully came to sit beside me. This was clearly going to make things more difficult with Jessica, but I couldn't help admitting that I liked having Mike around.

Mr. Banner made his way around the room, setting a box of slides before each set of lab partners. "Before you I have placed a box of slides of the different stages of mitosis in onion roots. You and your partner should carefully examine each slide and arrange them all in the proper order. I'll be walking around to see how you're doing."

"Shall I?" Mike asked, retrieving the first slide from the box. He put it under the clips on the microscope and began adjusting the settings. I waited patiently as he attempted to focus the slide and figure out which stage it was. After a few minutes, I decided to let him off the hook.

"A little help?" I offered. He grinned sheepishly and slid the microscope to me. "Prophase," I said confidently and he scribbled the word across the first line. It was barely legible. I asked Mike to prepare the next slide, and once he was distracted I quickly erased his answer, rewrote it slightly neater, and slide the paper to the far edge of the desk away from him. I didn't really want to lose points because of his chicken scratch.

After a minute of studying the slide, Mike was still silent. "Can I have a look?" I offered. I felt quite terrible; Mike was clearly extremely uncomfortable by how incompetent this lab was making him look. I personally was loving it; this made up for the hellish week of Gym I had been subjected to. It was a nice role reversal, to have Mike staying back and out of the way while I took the reigns on something.

He was content to sit back and watch me finish the lab. Unfortunately, Mr. Banner was not.

"All set?" He asked, striding over to our lab station.

"Yes sir," I said, flipping the sheet around so he could read it.

His eyes scanned the paper for a moment. "Were you in an advanced class in Phoenix?" he asked.

"Yes, I've done this lab before," I admitted.

"Well Mr. Newton, it would appear that your previous lab partner could use your help much more than Ms. Swan," he said. "Why don't you return to your original seat; I think Bella's going to be just fine."

"Yes sir," Mike said, crestfallen. He scooped up his things and moved back to his seat.

"Normally I don't like students to be without a lab partner, but it was never a problem for Mr. Cullen. It seems like it won't be one for you either," Mr. Banner said, before turning and walking among the other students. I sat and doodled in my notebook, anxious for Biology to end. I didn't like the empty seat there as a constant reminder of the boy who wasn't in it.

Edward's POV

My tiny silver cell phone began to ring in my pocket. I excused myself from the room, and took the call outside.

"Hello?" I answered warily upon seeing the name of the caller on speed dial.

"I don't want to _do that_, Edward," Alice whined through the telephone. Good. If she had a vision that she _had_ to do this, then my mind was completely made up. Or at least solid enough for her to be having visions.

"You have to Alice," I replied. "It's going to look weird enough even _with_ an explanation. We can't _not_ put one out there."

"But why do I have to start a rumor about you? We could just all leave, all come there with you!" I could see persuading her was going to prove more difficult than I had anticipated.

"Be reasonable, Alice," I argued. "For one, if I uproot everyone because of this, Rose will _never_ let it go. She's never all that happy with me as it is; if I make her restart high school again, she's going to start cracking skulls."

"Ah, well… maybe," she agreed.

"Besides," I said, "you'll be done with high school in a year and a half… that's no time at all. You can hang in there without me."

"Edward," she whined into the phone.

"Call me multiple times a day," I offered to pacify her.

"You won't always answer your phone," she pouted. I saw a vision of myself ignoring her phone call and laughed.

"I'll only do that if the calls are getting too excessive," I laughed.

"Please, Edward," she asked, her voice no longer whiny and pouty, but dead serious. "You don't need to stay away forever. Don't let this girl make you stay away."

"I won't be responsible for uprooting our family _that_ way Alice," I reasoned. "If I come back, Isabella Swan _will_ die and we'll be _forced_ to move."

"Not necessarily!" she cried, and showed me the possibilities in her head. One was of Bella and I, in a field somewhere soaking in the sun. The other was of Bella and Alice standing together, arms around each other, both pale white with ochre eyes.

"No," I growled into the phone. "There must be some other path."

"Well, there's this one," she muttered, and showed me a vision of myself with Tanya, in a situation much too intimate to be merely friendly. Then the vision flashed to various glimpses of Bella with Mike Newton; down at the beach, at a movie theatre in Port Angeles, sitting together for lunch the Forks High School cafeteria.

"Newton?" I scoffed.

"Does it really matter _who_ she chooses, as long as she's alive?" Alice asked.

"I suppose not," I agreed. "But the vision of _me_?" I was hesitant to use Tanya's name, as it was entirely possible that she was within hearing distance.

"The soft spot she's got for you is no secret, Edward. Would it really hurt so much to just give her a chance?" Alice asked. "You may not realize it _just_ yet, but you _are_ going to give in, so why not just walk right back in the house and do it already."

"But come on Alice," I argued, "I'll never feel the same toward her as she does toward me. Wouldn't it just be cruel of me to give her a chance when I know it'll never mean as much to me? If one day, I'd be willing to let her go?"

"So make it clear from the start how you feel. Don't give her any room to assume you care more than you do."

"Well, I suppose since I'm going to be here for a while – and I _am _going to be here for a while, Alice – that it wouldn't hurt to be friendly," I reasoned. "You can come visit me on the weekends, but I will not be returning to Forks."

"Fine," she pouted. "I can see your mind is made up. What if I put Esme on the phone?" she asked.

"Don't you dare," I threatened. "I'll hang up before you hand her the phone." As much as I loved Esme, I couldn't deal with the guilt trip a phone call from her would bring.

"Yes, you would," she scoffed. "That's terrible."

"I should go, Alice," I said after a moment of silence. "If it makes you feel better I'll go… talk to her."

"Good, do it. And come home soon," she whined into the phone.

"I can't promise that," I sighed. "Just come visit me."

"Fine. Goodbye Edward," she said softly, and I heard the line go dead.

"Bye Alice," I muttered to myself.

I turned to stare at the front door of the house, knowing Tanya was waiting inside; I willed myself to walk forward, but my feet suddenly felt like they weighed a thousand pounds each. How was I to be clear of my intentions to someone so forward, so confident and intimidating?

I strode into the house and back to the table where Irina and Tanya sat playing chess.

_Everything alright? _Tanya thought, her face worried.

"It's fine," I replied, "Just talking to Alice. My stay here is going to be a little longer than I initially thought."

"Really??" she cried, enthused.

"Yes," I answered. "I think it's the best way. I would feel terrible for harming the Swan girl, and I'm certain it would happen involuntarily if I were to return to Forks. I'm going to stay here until my family graduates once more, I think, and then when we all move once more, I'll move with them."

_You could just _stay_ with us indefinitely, _Tanya thought.

I shook my head lightly. "Even though circumstances require us to part for now, they're my family. When this blows over, I'll be returning to them."

"What's so special about this girl anyway?" Irina asked, raising her gaze for the first time from the board to look at me. She had just captured Tanya's queen, a move that was almost certain to win her the game.

_Seriously, she can't be that special_, Tanya mentally agreed. She looked chagrined immediately – that wasn't something she meant for me to hear. She was not yet accustomed to controlling her mind around me the way my family was.

"I wish I knew," I muttered, reflecting back on the girl. She was entirely ordinary: pale, brown hair, brown eyes… there was nothing about her that stood out or was particularly eye catching. She was pretty enough, sure – enough so that she attracted the attention of _every_ male on campus her first day – but this control she exuded over me, now _that_ was impossible to explain. If not for her scent, she would be completely ordinary, not even a blip on my radar. Just like every other girl in Forks.

"We're hunting tonight," Irina said, possibly as a distraction. "Come with us."

"Maybe," I replied absentmindedly, wandering from the room. I went to their bathroom and checked my eyes in the great mirror over the sink. Pitch black. It had been almost three weeks since the last time I hunted. I was past the point of carelessness; this was flat out reckless. I would be the end of any human who crossed my path, not just Bella. "On second thought, yes," I replied from the bathroom, knowing they could hear me perfectly in the living room.

Tanya's mind was barely coherent as it raced through a million different possibilities of how the evening could go. I knew I would need to talk to her, and soon, but she was just _so _enamored with me already; how could I possibly reason with that? A conversation of any sort would just make her more hopeful; she would never _really_ hear all the things I had to say to her. She would just grow fonder of me, and feel a sense of longing and attachment that I did not feel for her.

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I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter! Please leave a quick review, and I'll try to get the next chapter up real soon! :-)


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: I don't actually have much of an authors note, other than just saying if you like the story, review. If I don't see reviews, I'm going to assume that people don't like it, and I'll probably drop the story and pick up something else. I have one in mind for a different book, so if this doesn't seem to matter, I won't waste my time on it. I hope that didn't come across too angry, because I'm not; I just don't want to continue with something if no one is enjoying it. So yeah, read, and please enjoy it and then review it! lol

**Disclaimer**: I'm not Stephenie Meyer, I don't own any of the Twilight Saga or it's characters.

**Chapter 02**

Bella's POV

As I spent more time with Mike, the relationship grew less awkward and more comfortable. To start, he had been really intense all the time, and was sort of trying to mark his territory. However, after a few weeks of showing a slight preference for Mike, Tyler and Eric backed off a little bit, and Mike relaxed. Tyler and Eric were still hitting on me, unfortunately, but they stopped doing it when Mike was around and I was grateful.

Mike had taken to coming over to Charlie's in the afternoon every few days and we did our homework together. It had started when he asked for help one day, and since then I had been more or less tutoring him in Biology. At first I wasn't too keen on the idea, but since he was willing to put himself out there and ask for my help, I gave him a chance. The study sessions were even better than I'd hoped for; he helped me learn about the other students in our class (I was still having difficulties keeping the names straight, even after a week of school – however, he helped me learn who was into what, and a little bit more about their personalities) and I helped him pass Biology. A few times he even stayed for dinner, and Charlie really seemed to like him too, though he did mention a few times I should have some female friends, too. He liked to see me getting along with a boy, but he_ didn't_ like that I had a boy hanging around all the time at the same time.

All in all, things with Mike were going fairly well. I wasn't dating him, so Jessica was a little less hostile, but I was still giving him more attention than any _other_ guy and that kept him happy. It was a pretty good balance, I thought. However, I did really like Angela as well, and I was hoping she and I could be good friends soon. She seemed to be so much more sincere than anyone else here, and for the first time I could really picture myself having a close girl friend to share secrets and problems with. As much as I had initially hated the idea of Forks, it seemed like maybe my life really was coming together here after all.

Until one day at lunch, that is.

"So Bella, babe," Mike said, pulling his chair up right beside me as usual and throwing one arm along the back of my seat, "this has gone on long enough, right? What do you say we go out tomorrow night – make this official."

I choked on my soda, and he patted me a few times on the back. "Official?" I asked weakly. Why did he have to press it? Why couldn't we just be good friends?

"Oh, have you and Bella been seeing each other?" Jessica asked innocently looking back and forth between the two of us.

"Yeah, we hang all the time," Mike said, eyeing me with a grin, "but we haven't been on an official date yet."

"Yeah, we've been taking it slow," I added. "_Really_ slow."

"So what do you say, Bells… let's go out tomorrow night."

"Can I get back to you?" I asked quietly. Mike looked crestfallen, but Jessica looked elated. I felt terrible. I wasn't saying _no_, I just wanted to talk to Jessica about it first.

"Um, sure… do you still want me to drive you home after school?" he asked, uncertain.

"Yeah, sure," I said with a smile. I felt awful making him wait for an answer. He had been driving me to and from school for a few weeks now. I was still amazed at how quickly things with Mike had clicked into place; my initial impression of him hadn't been a great one, and at that point I couldn't ever imagine myself dating him. Now, somehow, it was a definite possibility for my future.

"I've got to hit my locker before Biology," I said quickly. "Come with me Jess?" I asked and stood, grabbing my backpack.

"I'll get your tray," Mike offered with a weak smile.

"I'll see you soon," I beamed back at him. Jess stood and followed after me. I stopped just outside the cafeteria doors, out of Mike's sight and hearing range.

"Jess, is this going to be weird?" I asked, chagrined.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Come on, I know you like Mike… if he and I date, is it going to be a problem?" I asked. "You've been a really great friend to me since I got here, I'd hate for this to mess everything up," I said, embellishing a little bit. She hadn't been a _great_ friend; sure, she had shown me around on my first day and introduced me to everyone, but she was also constantly making faces she didn't think I could see. I could tell that she felt threatened by me, and was doing her best to hide it.

"No, I mean you and Mike would be like, totally cute together," she offered, still staring past me.

"Come on Jess, there's gotta be someone else you like," I offered. "Maybe I could help. Eric? Tyler? Come on, give me a hint."

"Well," she grinned, and I could tell she was happy that the focus of the conversation was now on her, "Ben is actually pretty cute. I mean, sure, he's a lot shorter than most guys, but he's still taller than_ me_ so I suppose that doesn't matter much."

"Ben who?" I asked. Clearly he wasn't a regular at our lunch table.

"Ben Cheney," she giggled, turning and peering back at someone – presumably him – through the cafeteria doors. "He's sitting right there, awkwardly talking to Angela," she giggled again.

I turned and followed her gaze; the boy was about a head shorter than Angela, and they both seemed extremely uncomfortable with that fact. "Is he friends with Angela?" I asked, watching the two of them.

"Um, I'm not really sure if they're _friends_," she replied. "I think they're lab partners, and then I think they might also work on the paper together? It looks like that's what they're talking about now."

She was right. They had a stack of papers spread out across the table before them, and they were gesturing in the air to what looked to me like column placements. Once or twice they would bump hands, both flush crimson, and look away for a moment before continuing on with the paper. Clearly, they would like to be _more_ than friends, but they were probably having trouble getting there.

"He blushes a lot, and I think it's _so_ cute," Jessica was saying beside me. Was she really that thick? Did she think he just blushed about _everything_? Clearly, it was about Angela.

Suddenly, I was torn: should I help Jessica try to win Ben over, or leave him alone, and maybe even try to help _Angela_ instead? The fact that Ben seemed to really like Angela reassured me that he probably wouldn't see _anything_ in Jessica, and so I thought maybe I could help her out a little. He would clearly still like Angela at the end of the day, so what would it hurt for Jessica to see me helping her out a little bit? Then, Jessica wouldn't want to murder me if I went out with Mike.

"I'll talk to Angela about him," I offered.

"Oh thanks so much Bella!" Jessica gushed, and pulled me in for a tight hug. I patted her on the back awkwardly.

"No problem."

Just then, the bell rang and we were more or less forced away from the door by the crowd of people anxious to get out. I had been planning to wait here and meet up with Mike, but it seemed that conversation would have to wait until later. Then I realized, I really _did_ need to go to my locker, but the conversation with Jessica had not allowed me to make it that far. By the time I ran to my locker and back to Biology, I just barely made it through the door as the bell was ringing. Mike was already seated a few seats in front of me, staring ahead. Oh well, that conversation would have to wait until later.

Biology passed pretty slowly. I kept my head down, trying to focus on the lab while thoughts of Mike, Jess, Angela and Ben all swirled through my head. It was hard to focus on the stages of metamorphosis while my mind wanted me to plan out exactly how to talk to Mike. I needed to make it clear that, while I liked him, I still wanted to keep things simple, and move slow.

As soon as Biology had ended, I slowly began to gather my things, waiting to see if Mike would approach me, or if he was still bothered by my hesitation. To my relief, he was at my side and scooping my books up into his arms before I could contemplate just making a run for it.

"Fascinating stuff, huh," he said with a nervous chuckle, gesturing to the pinned butterflies in different stages of development still sitting on my lab table.

"Oh yeah," I muttered with a laugh.

He seemed reassured by my friendliness and pressed on. "So, I don't want to pressure you, and I don't expect an answer right now," he began, shuffling along the way to Gym, "but –"

"Yes," I cut him off. "I think going out tomorrow night would be fun."

He was absolutely beaming at me. "Oh, awesome," he gushed, "it'll be so fun I promise, I was thinking we could go out to dinner in Port Angeles and catch a movie or something, it'll be great."

"Sounds fun," I agreed. "I do have to check with Charlie though," I frowned. Charlie and I had a pretty good system going; he wasn't too authoritative and I pretty much had free reign to do as I pleased, but I felt like this was something he would want to weigh in on.

"Oh, well yeah, of course," Mike said quickly.

"Maybe we shouldn't study together today then," I said, contemplating. Mike frowned, so I rushed to explain. "Asking if I can go out with you while you're _there_ might be a little awkward... especially if he doesn't like the idea."

"Oh, makes sense," Mike agreed.

"I don't see why he wouldn't," I said quickly. "I just want to check… just in case."

"Right," Mike beamed. "Well, if everything goes according to plan, we should have a pretty excellent time tomorrow."

"Good," I said, smiling. We had reached the locker rooms, so Mike handed me back my stuff and I went in to get changed. We were playing basketball, which was unfortunate. I often tripped over my own feet walking; running up and down the court was sure to be torture. Fortunately, basketball was one of those sports where all my team mates had to do was _not_ pass me the ball and we'd all be just fine.

When Coach Clapp chose a few captains and had them take turns picking teams, Mike graciously picked me first.

"You really didn't have to do that," I mumbled, "my time would be best served on the bench."

"Oh I know," he laughed.

Once the game started, I did my best to stay as far from the ball as possible. Any time it came anywhere near me, Mike was miraculously there, throwing himself in front of it and scoring. By the end of the class, he had actually broken the school's record for most points scored by one person in a single game.

"Well, Newton," Coach Clapp said, clearly impressed, "this technically wasn't for a scholastic game, but that makes it all the more impressive. We'll see about getting that plaque changed," he said, gesturing toward the giant basketball plaque with the records on the wall of the gym. Mike had shattered the total by over twenty points.

"We beat the record!" I said to Mike throwing my hands up in the air with mock enthusiasm, as if I had had anything to do with it at all.

"Yes we did!" he said with a grin.

"It was more _you_ and less _we_," I laughed. "I had absolutely nothing to do with it."

"Actually, you did," he said, beaming at me. I raised an eyebrow skeptically. "I was so enthusiastic about your 'yes', I got a little excited," he admitted with a laugh.

"Well, glad I could help the team," I said with a smile.

"YES!" Mike yelled, his enthusiasm getting the best of him. Suddenly, he came up to me, hugged me, and scooped me off my feet. He twirled me around in a circle, legs flying through the air. It gave me a slight head rush, but it was cute all the same.

"Sorry," he grinned, setting me on my feet and holding onto me for a second to make sure I didn't fall over, "it's just been well, kind of the best day ever, actually."

"Glad I could help," I laughed.

He released me and we headed off to our respective changing rooms. As I changed, I thought about Mike some more. I had had my reservations about him at first, but I had to admit, his enthusiasm was catching. How could you not find pleasure in spending time with someone who cared about you, and was always happy and excited to have you near?

I walked out of the locker room to find Mike already there, waiting for me. He was grinning ear to ear, and the smile was contagious. I couldn't help smiling back.

"Let me get that," he offered, grabbing my backpack from me. We walked out to his car through the rain, walking so close that our arms were touching. I was staring down to keep the rain off my face, and noticed his hand twitching a few times, like he was contemplating whether or not to seize my hand. There were so many adorable things about him that I hadn't given him credit for upon first meeting him.

He unlocked the passenger door first and held it open for me as I climbed in before going around to his own side. I leaned across and flipped the lock up for him. The ride home was an uneventful one. He blasted the radio on some rock station, singing along with songs that I wasn't familiar with. He pulled into Charlie's space in the driveway, said goodbye, and I hopped out into the rain. I quickly made my way up to the front door and let myself inside; I waved once I had the door opened, and Mike sped off down the street the way he'd come, back toward his own house.

Once inside, I began to panic; how was I going to breach the subject with Charlie? I decided that cooking his favorite meal would soften him up a bit; I dug through the kitchen until I found a tiny book of recipes, and one for a stew that apparently was passed down for generations. I had heard him mention it before, and thought it would be a good idea. I hopped in my truck and ran down to the store to pick up the ingredients. Once back at the house, I divided my attention between cooking and tackling my homework. I couldn't help imagining how Mike would be faring with this Biology assignment; it was by far the most difficult one we'd had yet.

At the sound of Charlie's cruiser pulling into the driveway, I suddenly got very nervous. I had never had this sort of conversation with my _mother_, even… how was I supposed to talk about it with _Charlie_?

"Bells?" he called, walking in the front door and hanging up his coat and gun.

"In here," I called from the kitchen, dishing the stew into a couple of bowls.

"Perfect timing," he said, taking his seat at the table as I put the bowl down in front of him. "This smells amazing, what's the occasion?"

"Oh, I was just looking through the recipe book," I lied, turning to the fridge and pouring some milk to hide my face for a moment; I wasn't a very good liar.

While we ate, I contemplated all the possible ways to bring up the potential date. Eventually, I found I couldn't put the topic off any longer; Charlie had been silent through the whole meal, eating quickly and barely looking up, but now he had settled himself back in the chair and was just sitting, watching me.

"So what's up Bella," he asked, eyeing me critically. I must've looked as nervous as I felt.

"Well, it's about Mike," I began carefully.

"The Newton kid?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," I replied. "So, he invited me out tomorrow night. For a date."

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End of Chapter Two! You can expect to hear from Edward in the next chapter, but that's all I'll say for now. Please **review**! :-)


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Sorry about the delay getting this chapter up... moving back in, auditions, and what not... I'll try to get the next one up sooner, and please review if you like it!

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer, I'm just having fun with her characters

**Chapter 03**

Edward POV

It had been about a month since my arrival in Alaska, and things were just about the same. I sorely missed my family back home; Alice in particular. Try as they might, none of the rest of them really understood me the way Alice did. She and I had a particularly strong bond in that we were freaks among freaks. She had taken me up on the offer to call often, and for the most part I always answered the phone; it often got me out of awkward situations with Tanya.

Taking Alice's advice, I had finally approached Tanya about our "situation". Kate and Irina were out hunting, and I took advantage of the solitude to speak with her.

"Um, Tanya, could we talk?" I asked uncertainly as she sat reading a book in the living room. Her thoughts immediately began racing in a direction that I was afraid of.

"Sure Edward," she replied, setting her book down and patting the seat cushion beside her. I tentatively sat as far as the sofa would allow.

"So by now it's pretty clear that I am going to be here for an extended stay," I began, trying to draw out the time until the moment when the conversation would take an uncomfortable turn. Sure enough, Tanya's thoughts were saturated with images of the two of us, laughing, talking, hunting… holding hands somewhere.

"Yes, well, that's what I wanted to talk about," I continued. "Alice has suggested that there's no reason we couldn't be, uh, _friendly_, while I'm here." Her thoughts immediately became much racier, and I was certain that if I were able to blush, I would be doing so now. "Not _that_ friendly," I cautioned, and was embarrassed about the whole situation. Perhaps Alice was wrong; I shouldn't have approached this subject at all.

She looked chagrined. "The thing is… wow, this is difficult for me… you see, since I'm going to be staying here for some time, I thought that maybe we could, you know, give _dating_ a try."

_REALLY??_ She was screaming in her head. "That sounds reasonable," she agreed with a straight face. She was amazing at hiding her emotions from others, but I was the one person she was forced to be herself around; this was probably the main reason for her attraction to _me_, and the reason I was unable to find myself attracted to _her_. The Swan girl probably drove me crazy _because_ I wasn't able to discern her thoughts and emotions. Unfortunately, the same did not hold true with Tanya.

"The thing is," I continued once more, "I know the depth of your feelings for me." She scowled. "I'm sorry that's the case, but it's true; I've seen everything in your head and I know exactly how you feel about me, and I can tell you that my feelings will never match yours."

"But you'll give it a chance?" she asked hopefully.

"I'm willing to, yes," I agreed. "But again, you have to realize, I _know_ my feelings won't become any stronger… you'd have to be satisfied even though I could never feel the same."

Suddenly, her thoughts grew even worse. Images of the two of us being intimate were more than I could handle. Seeing them through the mind of someone like Jessica Stanley was one thing; from Tanya was quite another. I would escape Jessica one day, but Tanya would be a part of my life forever, even if, at times, it was a more distant connection.

"It will never come to that," I warned her, as we both watched images of us swim through her head. "That is exactly why I've always been so careful around you," I explained, "I don't share _those_ feelings. I wouldn't want that from you; our relationship would never reach that level." She looked crestfallen. "This was a bad idea, discussing this," I said, internally cursing myself for listening to Alice. "I thought we could try dating, but I didn't _really_ take into account how very much your feelings would differ from my own. I'm sorry to waste your time," I said, and rose to leave. I was almost at the door when Tanya called after me.

"Edward, wait," she pleaded, but she was angry. "If you couldn't hear my thoughts, _then_ would you have given me a chance?" she accused.

"I don't know," I mumbled. "Maybe."

"So the fact that you know how I feel about you is the reason you refuse to feel the same?" she yelled.

"Tanya," I said warningly.

"No, Edward," she interrupted. "I need to say this. If you couldn't hear just how very much I love you in my head, you wouldn't be scared to give me a chance. You might love me, too."

"Not being able to hear you wouldn't change a thing," I whispered.

"I hate your stupid ability," she scathed. "I wish you didn't have it at all!"

"Me too," I sighed, and I could tell the conversation was over. I got up from my seat, crossed slowly to the door, and then broke into a run, as fast as I could go, out into the Alaskan wilderness.

After running straight in one direction for over ten minutes, I stopped and sat on a fallen log in the middle of the woods. I rested my elbows on my knees and put my head in my hands; how awkward was this going to make things now? Would Tanya ever speak to me again? Based on her degree of anger when I left, somehow I didn't think so.

I pulled out my cell phone and dialed Alice's number. She would be in lunch now, but I knew she'd answer anyway. She probably already saw the phone call coming.

"You didn't handle that well," she scolded as she answered the phone.

"Tell me about it," I muttered.

"I can't blame you though… things would've been exponentially more awkward if you _had_ agreed to start dating her. Check this out," she giggled. In her mind, I saw a vision of Tanya and I in the living room.

_"What do you want to watch?" I asked her, my arm around her on the back of the couch, flipping through their countless movie stations on the television._

_"It doesn't really matter to _me_," she laughed, eyeing me hungrily._

"Oh God," I muttered into the phone.

"Wait!" Alice giggled, "There's more!"

_Suddenly, Tanya's posture shifted. She sat up on the couch and swung a leg over me, so that she sat straddling me. She twisted her fingers into my hair, and pulled me close._

_"Tanya," I said quietly, trying to back away._

_"Oh Edward, why must you always be _so_ chivalrous?" she asked, and began leaning in…_

"Enough!" I said harshly into the phone. Alice was still giggling. "That future is definitely out, now?" I asked.

"Yes, fortunately," Alice said.

"It sort of makes me think," I wondered aloud, "if I _couldn't_ hear what she was thinking all the time… how different would our relationship be? Would I actually see something in her?"

"Well, that's not something you have any control over," Alice said comfortingly. "I can't control the visions I see any better than you can block people out. We can both tune into certain people, but we can't completely get rid of them."

"I wish I couldn't hear anyone at all," I sighed. "Sure, it's come in handy a _lot_, but I'm afraid that I'll never be able to be _normal_ because of it. I don't _want_ to answer peoples' thoughts instead of their questions!"

"Well, there's always another choice, Edward," she said. "That vision hasn't disappeared yet." Isabella Swan's face flashed through her mind. "That path is still clear."

"No," I growled into the phone. "I refuse to let that happen. I am keeping my distance from Bella Swan."

"So you won't come home, then?" Alice pouted.

"No," I sighed. "Not unless things become unbearably awkward here."

"I miss you," she whispered.

"I miss you too, Alice," I said. "Come visit me. It's going to be sunny all weekend; you can't stay in school anyway."

"Ohh, maybe we will!" she gushed. "I'll bring Jasper and Emmett, and maybe Rose too!"

"Oh not Rose," I laughed, assuming she could hear the conversation through the telephone. I knew I was right as I heard a scowl from somewhere near Alice.

"No, but seriously," Alice said, "Everyone would really like to see you again. We'll probably all come. Carlisle's actually been talking about it for a little while; he really misses you (clearly, you're the favorite)" she teased, "and he thinks it would be a fun reunion for both families. He just didn't want to pressure you by forcing a visit, so he's been waiting for you to ask."

"He could've just asked me anytime!" I insisted. "I didn't leave because of my _family_, I have no problem seeing you all again."

"I think he knows that," Alice said, "but all the same, he wanted to give you your space."

"Ms. Cullen, I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to turn your cell phone off," a voice rang out behind Alice.

"Lo siento, Senora Goff," she said, "es mi hermano, necesito uno momento por favor."

"Solo uno," Mrs. Goff scoffed, and I heard her walk away.

"Wow, no one has _ever_ asked one of us to put our phones away before," I mused.

"She's mad because I corrected her Spanish in class today," Alice giggled quietly into the phone.

I chuckled too. Driving Mrs. Goff crazy was one thing I _did_ miss; it was so much fun to correct her mediocre Spanish in front of the class. We weren't supposed to show off that way, and give away too much about ourselves (and our intelligence) but sometimes I couldn't help it. It was just too much fun.

"Okay, she's hovering now," Alice complained. "I'd better go. It's going to be sunny Thursday and Friday, so we'll probably leave tomorrow afternoon and stay for a long weekend. I'll call you later," she promised.

"Oh joy, send me back inside with Tanya," I said sarcastically. "How am I supposed to deal with this situation?"

"Talk more to Kate and Irina. Don't show off. She'll cool down a bit in time," Alice said comforting. "She just needs a while. Our visit this weekend will cheer her up though."

"Okay, good," I sighed. "Goodbye Alice, see you soon."

"Bye Edward!" she sang into the phone, and then the line went dead.

Suddenly, I found myself once again very alone. Kate, Irina, and Tanya were all nearby, but they weren't my _family_. I found myself missing Forks a lot these days; it was by far my favorite place to live. We were able to be the most normal when we were living in Forks, and I loved the house Esme restored there far more than any of the rest of them. The scenery was beautiful, and there was an abundance and variety of wildlife around, enough to suit everyone's tastes. In just under 36 hours they'd all be with me again, even if only for the weekend. The thought was comforting, but I hoped they wouldn't try to persuade me to come home. Resisting would be difficult enough once they got here without them pressuring me into it, too.

I was both dreading and anticipating the visit from Esme more so than the rest of them; she was the only one I didn't say goodbye to before I left for Alaska, and she would try to guilt me into coming home with much more extreme measures than any of the rest of them. I probably wouldn't feel any pressure from Rose at all, but Esme, Carlisle, Alice, and Emmett would give me a hard time. Emmett would tease me, but I knew he really missed me almost as much as Alice did. Jasper would no doubt have me feeling sentimental and missing home within seconds of his arrival; I would need to say something if he tried to guilt me too much.

Unsure of whether or not returning to the house would be wise at the moment, I contented myself to sit perfectly still and observe the wildlife. After a few moments, many birds and smaller wildlife began to appear. Instinctually, they never came _near_ us, but as I sat perfectly still, neither moving nor breathing, some of them didn't recognize that I was even there, and came wandering through the clearing. A small brown butterfly fluttered its way by in front of me, and I couldn't help marveling at a world that could contain both vampires and butterflies; it was even more awesome that the two could coexist in the same space at the same time. Somehow, this delicate brown creature reminded me of Bella Swan, and I couldn't deal with sitting still anymore.

I stood up. It wasn't an abrupt action, neither quick nor loud, but my subtle movement was enough to send all the animals nearby running away as fast as they could. A flurry of wings, feathers, and fur, and I found myself very much alone in the clearing. The only creature left was the poor little butterfly, flapping it's wings as fast as it could in an attempt to rid itself of me; however, the poor creature was only so fast. It stood no chance against me. Once again my mind wandered back to Bella, and it was more than I could stand. Not wanting to terrify the poor butterfly further, I walked away in the opposite direction from which it took flight.

_We left Edward and Tanya alone,_ a familiar mind mused. It was still far away, but I could sense it coming closer. _I wonder how things went. I don't think Edward could ever be with her, even if he was going to give her a chance. I hope things didn't go awkwardly… if he makes it any more difficult to live with her…_ The thought trailed off into incoherent visions of Kate strangling me. I couldn't help but laugh. Her mind _sounded_ angry, but knowing her so well, I could tell that she didn't really have any intention of harming me. Unfortunately, all she had surmised was correct. I decided to head them off and speak with them before they got back and heard Tanya's version.

I listened carefully for a moment until I could detect where they were running from, and where to, and raced off after them. I had not yet met a vampire who could match me for speed, and Kate and Irina were no exception. Within moments I had caught up with them, a mere mile away.

"Kate, Irina," I called, knowing they could hear me. They both stopped abruptly and in just a few seconds, I was stopping quickly beside them. "I wanted to speak with you before you got back to the house."

_Oh no, Edward, what did you do? _Kate's mind asked, her eyes rolling.

"Well, everyone's been pressuring me to give Tanya a chance," I said, "and so I decided to talk to her while you were out."

_Awesome_, Irina thought sarcastically. "And how did _that_ go?"

"Well, things took an unexpected direction," I admitted. "The conversation actually didn't start too terribly. I was when she got _excited_ that I encountered a problem."

"Don't you ever just block her out?" Kate asked skeptically.

"Unfortunately it doesn't work that way," I explained. "My life would be a _lot_ easier if I were able to control exactly who I could or couldn't hear."

"I can see where that would be annoying," she agreed. "So Tanya got excited, and?"

"Well, I changed my mind. I _was_ going to give her a chance, but when I could see just how enthusiastic, how _attached_ she is, I couldn't do it," I said.

_You have a girl _dying_ to jump you, and you can't do it? _Kate thought with a laugh. _How much of a prude_ are you_ Edward?_

"Hey now, that's not fair," I argued. Irina looked confused. "It has nothing to do with being a _prude_. It's simply the fact that I don't feel as strongly as she does, I never will,and it's not fair to give her false expectations of something that I know will _never_ come to fruition."

"What makes you so sure it won't?" Irina asked.

"We don't change often, Irina," I said. "If I were ever going to fall in love with Tanya, it would've happened when we met. She's never going to change, and my _feelings_ are never going to change, either."

"You're probably right," Kate mused. "Once I've gotten to know a person, my feelings about them have never changed. But oh no, does that mean she's going to stay in love with you forever, while you'll _never_ fall in love with _her_?"

"I never thought about that," I admitted. "Perhaps I need to go off on my _own_ for a while… Staying in Forks isn't an option at the present, and apparently my presence here with Tanya is only going to make things that much worse."

"I don't think going back to Forks is such a bad idea," Irina said. "You Cullen boys (aside from Jasper, I suppose) are infamous for your self control. Become accustomed to her scent and I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I dunno," I mumbled. "Maybe if things here are really _that_ unbearable."

"I'm sure your family must miss you anyway," Kate said. "Not that we're in any hurry to get rid of you," she teased, "but I'm sure they'd love to have you back."

"Oh, wow, I almost forgot, they're actually coming to visit," I informed them.

"Wonderful!" Irina said, beaming. "When?"

"Tomorrow when everyone gets out of school," I chuckled, "if that's okay."

"School," Kate laughed. They all posed as older than high school students, so they had full time jobs when they wanted to, and could typically stay in one area until they really looked much too young to be the ages they were claiming. "Sure, tomorrow is fine. Are you ready to head back?"

"Only if you're willing to act as a human shield for me against your sister," I mumbled.

They both began laughing hysterically. Kate threw an arm around my shoulder in a somewhat comforting matter and said, "Come on Edward, let's go."

I complied, if somewhat reluctantly, and made my way back to the house, hoping against hope that Tanya had cooled down a bit and would once again be acting civil. I sighed. I couldn't wait for my family to arrive tomorrow.

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Again, I'll get the next one up soon! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **so after an unusually long break from writing, I'm back. I'm happy to say that I've gotten a LOT of writing done lately, and my life is significantly less stressful and back on track, so I've got more time and incentive to write. I am SO sorry that this chapter took so long, but I have more written and should get at least another chapter or two up very soon. Thanks to everyone who decided to hang in there and wait for updates! Now, without further ado, enjoy the rest of the story! :)

**Disclaimer**: I am not Stephenie Meyer and don't own any of these characters. I'm just having fun with them.

**Chapter 04**

Bella's POV

"Out on a date?" Charlie asked, trying to sound casual.

"Yeah, for tomorrow night. If that's okay," I added.

"I suppose so," he said, "if that's what you want. I thought you two were just friends?"

"Well, he's nice, and we've been hanging out a lot," I shrugged. "He asked, so I thought I'd give him a chance."

"I see," Charlie replied, "We'll it's _your_ choice. But _you've _got to tell your mother," he laughed.

"Fine," I agreed. "I'm gonna go finish up my homework and call her then." I rose from the table and went up to my bedroom.

I decide to call Renee first, since it was already pretty late in Jacksonville. The call didn't go exactly as I anticipated it would. It _began_ normal enough – we chatted about school, Charlie, and Forks in general for a while – nothing all that exciting. Then the topic changed to Phil, his spring training and try-outs. Eventually, all of the mundane topics had been exhausted and the topic of Mike was all that remained, looming in front of me.

"So," Renee began casually, "what did you need to tell me?"

"What are you – I – I," I stuttered, caught off-guard by her sudden intuitiveness.

"Bells, come on," she said. "I know you better than you know yourself! And I know when you have something you need to tell me."

"Okay, well, there's this boy," I admitted after a moment.

"What's his name?" Renee gushed – this was her element.

"His name is Mike Newton," I began, but she cut me off. She was full of questions, yet not patient enough to wait for me to answer them.

"Newton! Like Isaac Newton, he must be smart – is he smart? Is he a _nerd_? Not that it would matter of course – or is he a prep, a jock, an AV kid? What does he look like? Is he tall? Does he have nice eyes? How are his _teeth_? Is he-"

"Mom!" I cut her off with a laugh. "If you're going to ask so many questions, you need to give me time to answer them!"

"Sorry sweetie, it's just, well, you've never had a boyfriend before," she said sheepishly. "Usually these conversations are about _me_, and _my_ boys. I'm so happy that someone has finally struck your fancy, and we can talk about _you_ for a change!" she said.

"Gee, thanks mom," I said sarcastically.

"Oh Bella, honey, you know what I mean," she laughed. "This Mike person must be a pretty serious guy; I can't imagine you'd ever go for someone who was a goof ball. After all, I call you my middle-aged teenager for a reason."

"Well, actually, Mike _can_ be kind of a goofball," I admitted. "He's sort of a jock."

"Really??" Renee asked. She sounded shocked.

"Yeah, he's on the basketball team and stuff," I said. "He's blonde, blue eyes, athletic – not the smartest kid in the world, but he means well."

"This is surprising," Renee mused.

"Why?" I asked.

"He doesn't sound like your type."

"Mom, I've never had a boyfriend!" I exclaimed. "I don't _have_ a type!"

"Nonsense. Everyone has a type, experienced or not. You're not just settling, are you? I hope you're not…"

"Why would I just settle?" I asked.

"I have no idea," she said. "But no one else in Forks has caught your eye? You don't seem very enthusiastic about this Mike character, and he doesn't sound right for you."

My mind flashed to Edward Cullen, but I immediately blocked out that thought. Besides, he was no longer a resident of Forks, wherever he was.

"No, there's no one else," I lied. Renee wasn't convinced.

"There's someone else and I know it!" she argued. "You should go for _him_, instead."

"He doesn't live in Forks anymore, Mom," I muttered. "He did, but he left right after I got here. Besides, Mike is really nice."

"Fine," she gave in. "Giving him a chance wouldn't hurt. But, if the other boy comes back, you go for him," she insisted.

"Sure, sure," I said to pacify her.

"Oh no, I'm going to be late!" she cried suddenly. "Phil's taking me out to dinner tonight, I totally forgot!"

"Alright, I'll talk to you later then," I said with a chuckle. She was so scatterbrained that with any luck, she'd never even remember encouraging me to go for Edward instead of Mike. Sometimes I felt guilty for using her poor memory to my advantage, but most of the time it was just convenient and harmless.

I started in on my homework, but before long found myself severely sidetracked. Involuntarily I had moved from analyzing Emily Bronte's use of confusing character names to weighing the pros and cons of Mike Newton versus Edward Cullen in my head. Cathy, Heathcliff… Edward, Mike… I couldn't figure out how I'd gotten there.

I slammed my binder shut in frustration and threw it to the end of my bed. _Was_ I making a mistake, choosing Mike? He hadn't been my first choice, but he'd grown on me… didn't that sometimes happen? I wasn't experienced enough in the field to say for sure, but I didn't think it was so far out of the realm of possibility. Besides, we were going out tomorrow night; surely, this date would make it abundantly clear whether or not this could work… I would just have to be patient and find out.

Eventually, I realized it was time for me to get some shut-eye. I hadn't come to any real conclusions about anything; I was just more frustrated than ever, because my mother had muddled my thoughts. I got ready and climbed into bed, wondering what my date tomorrow would bring.

The next morning, I scrambled to get ready, having woken late after an uneasy night. Visions of Mike, Edward, my father, and a dark forest somewhere kept me up all night. I had no idea what it meant, but I was running so late that I didn't have much time to speculate.

Upon arriving at school I saw Mike standing by his car, looking around nervously. His expression turned to one of relief when he spied my truck pulling into the lot, and he ran to my side before I was even able to open the door.

"Morning Bella!" he said brightly, pulling my door open and holding out a hand to help me out.

"Hey Mike," I replied, flustered. I gathered my things and still practically tripped out of my truck, even though he was there holding out a hand to steady me. "What's up?"

"I was afraid you weren't coming to school today," he admitted chagrined.

"Oh?" I asked, surprised. Why wouldn't I be in school?

"Yeah, well I wasn't sure if you would want a ride this morning, so I went to your house and waited for a few minutes, but then figured maybe you didn't want a ride after all, so I left," he explained hastily. "But then when I didn't see your truck in the lot this morning, I thought maybe you WERE waiting for a ride, or maybe your truck was broken or something and… I dunno, I'm glad you're here now," he smiled.

Wow. Adorable, but a little clingy at the same time. "Oh, thanks Mike," I replied. "I woke up really late so I must have missed you waiting outside – I sort of just ran to my truck without a second thought," I explained. His face fell. "I mean, I _just_ walked out the door like, two minutes ago," I added hastily. "I barely made it on time so it's good you didn't wait."

"Okay," he said, not entirely appeased. I decided to throw him a bone.

"I'm excited for tonight," I said optimistically, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster. It worked.

"Oh me too," he gushed, seizing my hand and walking me toward my first class. "I thought we could go to this cute little diner in Port Angeles, and catch a movie," he explained.

"Sounds great," I agreed. We had arrived at the door to the class room, but he still had my hand. "I'll see you later," I said rather awkwardly.

"I can't wait," he said with a smile, and kissed my hand.

I flushed scarlet and turned to walk into the classroom. I wondered how ridiculous I must look to everyone, blushing so badly from a kiss on the hand. I was unfortunately still receiving quite a bit of "new girl" attention, and walking into class with my face glowing didn't help matters.

The day passed fairly quickly; the only awkward time was lunch. Even though Jessica said she was fine with our dating, she sat at the table next to me and sulked, every now and then trying to cast discrete glances at Mike. Every time he was distracted, I slid my chair a little bit further from him; it was a difficult line to walk, trying not to discourage him but also trying to keep Jessica from freaking out.

At the end of the day, Mike walked me to my truck and held the door open. I slid in, and rolled down the window to talk to him.

"So I'll pick you up at five," he offered, playing with the zipper on his jacket and looking down. "I know it's a Friday and that's kind of early, but it's about an hour drive out there, so we'll get there by six, and the movie is showing at 6:15," he explained.

"Sounds perfect," I agreed, smiling. It was surprising to see him so timid and unsure of himself; around Tyler and Eric, he exuded confidence.

"Alright, then I'll see you at five," he said, and awkwardly gave my truck a pat before walking away.

"Bye," I chuckled, and then turned the key; my truck roared to life, and I couldn't help but laugh as the sudden noise made Mike jump as he was walking away.

Edward POV

Alice and the rest of the family arrived the following evening. _We're almost there, we're almost there!_ I heard Alice, and could just picture her bouncing up and down on the back seat of the Volvo. They were a few miles out, and normally I'd be able to hear all of them at that distance, but Alice was practically screaming at me.

As they came closer, it became easier to hear their individual voices above the chaos that made up Alice's thoughts. Everyone was excited to see me again, but no one more so than Esme. She hadn't forgiven me for taking off without saying goodbye, but she was willing to ignore that fact for a little while.

I walked out onto the porch and stood to wait. Kate and Irina joined me, but Tanya stayed somewhere within the house. She intended to come out once they were actually physically getting out of the car, but not a moment sooner. After what seemed like an eternity, two vehicles pulled up to the house; my Volvo, driven by Carlisle, and Emmett was behind the wheel of his jeep. Alice was out of the car and had her arms wrapped around me before I could even say hello.

"Edward I missed you!" she cried, hugging me tightly.

"Let go," I mumbled, but grinned and tousled her hair. "I missed you too."

She released me just as Esme pulled me into a tight embrace as well. "Oh Edward," was all she could say, but I read in her mind a jumble of thoughts, and relived the moments as Carlisle told her where I had gone, the house without me, my piano sitting neglected and unused….

"Sorry," I mumbled. I knew a guilt trip was coming, but I wasn't sure if I was prepared for it yet.

"Let's all go inside and catch up?" Kate suggested, holding the front door open. Tanya stood in the door frame with a warm smile on her face, but as usual her thoughts betrayed her. _I'm acting happy for _their_ sake, _she hissed at me inside her head. I inclined my head very slightly once, to show that I understood.

Everyone made their way into the living room, and the small talk began. Everyone wanted to hear how the past few weeks had been, and I let the girls speak for me. Kate and Irina said it was wonderful to have me, and that things were going fine. Tanya had other thoughts but held her tongue. Everyone was fooled except Jasper, who could sense that the emotional climate of the room was absolutely nothing like the words coming out of their mouths. Once they began asking about work for Carlisle, and laughing at my siblings for keeping up the high school façade, I completely tuned out of the conversation.

Because of this, it took me by surprise when I heard "Edward!" called very sharply. My head shot up and I searched the room for the source. Esme may have yelled my name in her head, but nothing about her physical appearance betrayed the fact that she wasn't still deeply involved in a conversation with Irina. _A word?_ She asked, turning toward me for the first time. I nodded.

"Edward, why don't you show me around a bit?" she asked aloud, giving me a pleasant smile. "It's been so long since I've been here."

"Of course," I agreed, returning her warm smile and rising to my feet.

We walked outside and straight into the Alaskan wilderness. We ran for about five minutes before she began to slow. We finally came to a halt along the shore of a deep, cold lake. The moment I had been dreading since my departure from Forks had arrived, and I wasn't sure I was ready for this guilt trip. I picked up a few stones and skipped them absentmindedly across the water; they became deeply imbedded in a tree on the other shore. I sighed and turned back to Esme.

"How could you, Edward?" she asked softly, and I was surprised to find that she was staring away from me. "How could you leave without saying goodbye?"

"Oh Esme," I began weakly, already knowing that there were no words I could say that would form an excuse she would be willing to accept. She turned sharply to face me, and the look of despair on her face melted all my resolve. "I'm sorry, I really am sorry," I began quickly, the words spilling out before I could even comprehend everything I was saying. "I had to leave, I didn't have a choice! I would have killed her, Esme, I_ would have_. It would have ruined everything for us. I saw the options from Alice, and I chose the one I could live with."

"Nonsense," she said stubbornly. "Besides, from what I hear, Isabella Swan is dating that Mike Newton boy now – you wouldn't get too close anyway."

"'Get too'… what are you saying, you think I want to _date_ her?" I asked, aghast. I couldn't believe that _that_ was the direction her thoughts had taken! "I assure you it doesn't matter to me who she dates," I said. "The point is, she's entirely too appealing to me – I would have killed her." A vision of Bella and Mike floated through my head, and I was unpleasantly surprised to find that I did _not_ like what I saw. I quickly pushed the thought from my mind.

"Alice told me the other options, too, Edward," she said softly. "Don't think I'm so naïve." Suddenly, I saw flashes of things I had seen before, but through Alice; Bella with glowing red eyes, pale white skin… a _different_ pale white Bella, lying immobile and cold on the ground in the forest somewhere… these were my possibilities. My options. There really was only _one_ outcome – her death. Whether I made her immortal or just stopped her heart, either way I would kill her. _Mike Newton_ wouldn't kill her. Once again I quickly banished the thought.

"Don't you see? I would kill her – no matter what I did, it would result in ending her life if I went back!" I growled.

"You're forgetting _this_ one," she said, and I saw a vision of Bella still human, warm and gentle with her cheeks flushed red, sitting beside me on my piano bench. I heard an unfamiliar but beautiful lullaby cascading around us. Funny, but it wasn't a piece I recognized.

"That path could still end in her death," I mumbled, but I was losing my resolve. Ever since Esme had mentioned Mike Newton, his name was weighing on my mind, bugging me like a fly that I kept swatting away, but the second I laid my hand down would come to rest right beside me once more. The thought was persistent, refusing to back away regardless of how frustrated I got. I would never admit it aloud, but the thought of Bella with Mike _did_ bother me, but I couldn't figure out why. It bothered me enough that my resolve waivered and I could imagine myself returning to Forks, to see her again, to see what was going on.…

"Come home, Edward," Esme said softly, drawing me back to the present. She wrapped her arms around me comfortingly. "We won't let you hurt her."

"Maybe," I finally said after a moment of consideration. "Things are getting a little strange here, anyway."

"Oh, do you really mean it!" she cried, elated, hugging me tightly.

"Yeah, I do. I told Tanya that nothing could happen between us and it got… uncomfortable," I explained.

"Really? I couldn't tell," she said, surprised. "Tanya has been very pleasant, a perfect hostess since we arrived!"

"Yes… she hides it well," I sighed.

"Well, all the more reason to come home, then," she smiled at me.

"I suppose so," I agreed. "How did I know your guilt trip was going to do this to me," I chuckled.

Esme smiled innocently. _And Alice_, she thought.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Oh no, I didn't mean to think that!" she moaned. "Forget about it."

_Alice_? I wondered to myself, but couldn't put the pieces together. I sighed, and decided to let it go for the time being.

"But um, can you last one more week, dear?" she asked, chagrinned.

"I suppose so… but why?" I asked.

"Well, everyone else really missed the girls," she explained, "and we figured you'd take quite a bit of convincing – Carlisle took a week off and everything."

I laughed. Carlisle taking a break from work at the hospital was hard to imagine. "That's fine," I grinned. "One more week, then back to Forks." Suddenly, something in my brain clicked. "Alice," I growled. "She told me to tell Tanya! She _knew_ things would get awkward and I'd come home, didn't she?!"

"Of course not," she said, but I could see in her thoughts that was indeed exactly the case.

"I never should've listened to her," I grumbled. "Well, come on; let's go back to the house. Alice is probably bouncing off the walls with excitement at my decision, and I'd like a word or two with her."

Esme beamed at me, and we turned and ran back to the house. She was elated, but something inside of me was still unsure. Was a return to Forks _really_ the right choice? Would my presence just put Bella in danger? Would I _kill_ her? The possibilities were both numerous and disturbing, but it was hard to feel upset with Esme so euphoric beside me. I tried to clear my mind, and just focus on the quiet, peaceful forest rushing around me as I ran.

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There's chapter four! I hope you enjoyed it - like I said before, I'm gonna try to get the next chapter or two up very soon! Please review, they inspire me to keep going :)


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **So I tried to get this one up as quickly as possible. It was fun, but strange to write. For those of you impatiently waiting on Edward, we'll get there, I promise, just stick with it (and, *ahem* review!)

**Disclaimer: **I am not Stephenie Meyers, and don't own the Twilight Saga or any of its contents.

**Chapter 05**

Bella POV

When I got home from school, I decided to hop in the shower. I didn't really think I needed one, but I was feeling nervous enough about the date without worrying if I smelled, too. I took my time, focusing on the hot water and the smell of my strawberry shampoo. I finished showering and dried my hair impeccably, smoothed it down and tried to style it. It wouldn't completely cooperate with what I was trying to do, but my hair rarely did so I decided that was good enough and let it go.

I walked back into my room only to realize that I had no idea what kind of clothing was appropriate for a first date. Mike had seen me in a t-shirt and jeans in school all the time, and I felt I should probably look a little nicer than that. I settled on a pair of khakis that weren't too dressy and my favorite blue sweater. I put a blue clip in my hair to match, and surveyed myself in the mirror. Respectable. At least I was capable of _looking_ like I had a clue.

I checked the clock; it was 4:30. I had half an hour until Mike would be here. I decided to check my email and see if there was anything from Renee. I had just barely sat down at my computer when I heard the door downstairs. Mike wasn't here already, was he?

"Bells?" I heard Charlie yell up the stairs.

"Up here," I called back, abandoning the computer and heading for the stairs. It was way too early for him to be home; usually he didn't arrive before six. "What's wrong?" I called.

"Wrong?" he asked as I descended the stairs. "Nothing's wrong, what makes you say that?"

"You're home awfully early," I pointed out.

"Oh, I uh… I took off early today," he mumbled. "Slow day. Mostly parking tickets." He grinned, but I wasn't completely appeased. I raised an eyebrow. "So you look nice," he said, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah… my date," I said. I didn't really want to discuss it with Charlie. That felt way too awkward.

"Oh yeah, the Newton kid… so what time's he picking you up?"

"His name's Mike, and he's coming at five," I explained. Slowly, the pieces clicked together. "Aww man, you're not going to interrogate him, are you Chief?" I asked.

He chuckled. "I just want a word with the boy," he argued.

"Be _nice_," I stressed, and flopped down on the sofa. Charlie sat next to me, and turned on some sports game.

I checked the time again. 4:45. I sat impatiently waiting for Mike, pretending to watch whatever Charlie had turned on. The time flew unnaturally fast and it seemed only seconds later that the clock was striking five as Mike simultaneously knocked on the door. I jumped to my feet, but Charlie was faster.

"Allow me," he offered heading to the door. I gulped loudly and followed after him. "Right on time, good man!" Charlie exclaimed as he pulled the door open.

"Oh, h-hello Chief Swan, s-sir," Mike stuttered, entering. Funny, he never struck me as the nervous type; in fact, sometimes he was _so _cool that it was intimidating. In school, nothing ever rattled him; clearly, "Chief Swan" was an exception.

"Come on in," Charlie said, and directed him to the kitchen table, "have a seat, let's chat." I hovered in the doorway, waiting. "So where are you kids off to tonight?" he asked.

"Just Port Angeles, to have dinner and see a movie," Mike squeaked.

"Okay. How are you grades, Michael?" Charlie asked. Mike flushed crimson.

"Um, a mixture, sir," he said quietly.

"And activities? What do you do? Any jobs?" Charlie inquired.

"Daaaad," I groaned. It was Friday night and I was seventeen years old. Was the third degree really necessary?

"Well, I'm on the basketball team, and I play other sports too," Mike explained, "and I work at my parents' store after school and on the weekends."

"I see." Charlie stared him down for a minute and I felt terrible for Mike. He was probably regretting having asked me out. "And you'll have her home early?" Charlie finally asked after a long, awkward pause.

"Dad!" I said, more sharply this time. He held up a finger warningly, and turned back to Mike.

"Yes sir," Mike said quickly.

"Alright. You kids have a good time," Charlie said, strategically resting his hand on his gun belt hanging near the doorway.

Mike gulped. "Bye Chief Swan."

"Bye dad," I mumbled, and followed Mike out the door.

I followed Mike down to his car, and we climbed in. We headed out along the highway on our way to Port Angeles; it felt like the car was creeping, and I thought even _my _truck could beat this thing in a race. I checked the nearest road sign and ascertained that the speed limit on this highway was 45. I checked the speedometer: 32.

"You know, Mike," I said casually, breaking the silence we had been sitting in since pulling out of Charlie's driveway, "my father may be the Chief of Police, but I'm not going to tell him if you break any traffic laws… or go the speed limit."

He chuckled lightly, but visibly loosened up and put the pedal down. "Sorry, he's just very intimidating." It astounded me that anyone could possibly find _Charlie_ intimidating, but I let it go. "Actually, it's a good thing you said that – we probably would've missed the movie if I kept up that speed," he laughed.

"Yeah, don't worry about Charlie," I assured him, "he's harmless, really."

"Okay," Mike said, grinning now. This was more like the Mike I knew. "Mind if I turn on a little music?" he asked.

"No, go ahead," I replied.

He fumbled with the radio for a moment before settling on a station with a lot of screaming and heavy bass. It sounded like something Phil would listen to. Not exactly my cup of tea. I stared out the window, lost in thought, while Mike screamed along to the radio. My idea of a first date didn't include sitting, thinking to myself for 45 minutes while we drove out of town, but then again I didn't have experience with first dates, either. Maybe this was normal. Maybe I was looking for flaws in this, because there was someone else I would rather have had next to me…

I banished that thought from my brain, and focused all my energy on the terrible music exploding from the speakers. Absentmindedly, I started tapping my foot along with the beat.

"You like this band?" Mike screamed over the noise.

"Well, I've never heard them before," I shouted back.

"What?" he yelled.

"I said 'I've never heard them before'," I shouted, louder this time.

Mike raised one eyebrow, and I reached and cranked the volume down.

"I said 'I've never heard them before'," I repeated at my normal speaking volume.

"Sorry," Mike said, face flushing slightly. "I tend to get really into this kind of music when I'm listening," he explained.

"It's quite alright," I replied, looking back out the window.

He seemed to realize he'd lost my attention a bit, so he made an effort to reclaim it. "So, what's _your_ favorite song?" he asked.

"Oh, um well I don't know that I have a _favorite_," I replied, "but I do love _Clair de Lune_." This was greeted with a blank stare. "Um, Debussy?" I clarified. Still nothing. "It's classical piano."

"Oh." He seemed skeptically surprised. "I hadn't pegged you as a 'classical girl'," he said with a chuckle.

"I'm not a 'classical girl'," I argued. "I just happen to like that piece. It's beautiful."

"Okay," Mike said quickly. "I didn't mean to offend." He beamed at me. "You just always take me by surprise. I'm never expecting the things you say. You're so honest, and _real_… there aren't any other girls in Forks like you."

I flushed scarlet, and looked out the window. "Thanks," I mumbled. "I think you give me too much credit though."

"I don't think so," he countered. "At any rate, Tyler and Eric agree with me."

They discussed me? I wasn't so sure how I felt about that. "So, are we close?" I asked. "I haven't been here in a long time; I think I came with my dad when I was a kid."

"Yeah, we're getting close," he promised, "about five minutes."

I checked the clock on the dash – 6:03. He had mentioned the movie was starting at 6:15, so we'd probably be just on time for it. "What are we going to see?" I asked. He told me the time of the showing, but I couldn't recall him ever mentioning the title of the movie.

"Uh, it's called _Galaxies Apart,_ or something like that," he said. We were clearly in Port Angeles now, and he was eyeing the streets for somewhere to park. "It's like, this couple gets separated by some evil something or other, and she's kidnapped and he's gotta get his friends together and go save her."

"Sounds interesting," I said, contemplating.

"I chose it because it's supposed to have a little of everything," he explained. "It's got romance and drama, then it turns to action, and maybe even a little horror, since there are aliens and stuff. Then the ending is romance, I assume," he concluded.

"It _would_ be rather anticlimactic to have him travel across galaxies and fight space aliens for her to just have them end up apart," I agreed.

"Finally! A parking space!" he cried, and quickly pulled his car into the spot. I flinched as he nearly took the bumper off of the other car, but he just managed to swerve and leave both cars unharmed. "Sorry," he grinned sheepishly. "Let's go!"

He hopped out of the car immediately and stood to wait for me on the sidewalk. I climbed out awkwardly and followed him down the block to the theatre, keeping my eyes on the ground so as to avoid face-planting onto the cement.

We arrived at the theatre and Mike hastily led us inside. As he was rushing past the concession stand, he paused for a moment to ask if I wanted anything. Due to his facial expression screaming "please no", I said a polite, "no thank you, I'm fine" and we rushed into the theatre. My stomach grumbled once in defiance, but I reminded myself that we were going to dinner after the movie ended.

The theatre wasn't very crowded as the movie had already been out for a few weeks, and the previews were just ending as we took our seats.

"Wow, I hope this movie isn't awful," he whispered, looking around. "This theatre seems a little empty for a Friday night."

"We'll see I guess," I replied with a smile. He beamed back for a moment, and then turned to the screen.

It was clear just minutes in that it was, in fact, an awful movie. None of the actors were well known, and there was a good reason for it – a third grader could've written the script. At first, Mike looked horrified, and I wondered if he really hated the movie that much, or if he was just ashamed that he'd brought me to see such a terrible film. Hoping it was the latter, I began chuckling and pointing out the ridiculous lines or special effects, and he quickly joined in.

Right from the start of the movie I noticed Mike's hand resting very awkwardly, palm up, on the arm rest. I wondered how that could possibly be comfortable, but about 20 minutes into the movie, it sunk in that maybe he was hoping I'd take his hand. I wasn't entirely sure that's what I wanted, so I did my best to pretend his hand wasn't there, ignoring it each time I'd lean over to whisper something about the movie.

About an hour in, he shifted in his seat and removed his hand from the arm rest. I was secretly a little relieved that I didn't have to outright ignore it anymore. However, I realized his true intentions with removing his hand when he did the not-so-subtle stretch and placed his arm along the back of my chair, instead. I looked at him and gave him a weak smile, unintentionally encouraging him to wrap his arm around my shoulders, instead. Instinctively, I wanted to pull away, and I started internally arguing with myself.

What was my problem? I liked Mike. He liked me. We were in mutual "like" here. Why was I trying so hard to poke holes in the whole thing? If I liked him, I shouldn't be shying away from an innocent display of affection. I briefly considered if maybe a convent wasn't a more suitable home for me, because I felt a little like a nun, but I banished the thought. _You can do this_, I said to myself. _You _like_ him, remember?_

I took a deep, silent breath, exhaled quickly, and leaned towards Mike more. _This is what you're supposed to do when the boy you like put his arm around you_, I told myself. Mike smiled, tightened his grip just slightly, and we both refocused on the movie. The only difference was that now every time he went to whisper something, he was whispering directly in my ear, and it seemed so much more intimate than before.

Eventually the terrible excuse for cinematic art ended and the lights went back up. We stood up and stretched and Mike, apparently feeling braver now, seized my hand and led me from the theatre.

"So," I said shyly, trying to keep from fidgeting, "that movie was…"

"Awful," Mike finished for me, his face apologetic. "I'm so sorry!"

"Oh don't be," I assured him. "It was kind of hilarious, regardless of the fact that no one involved in the making of this movie should _ever_ be allowed to work with film again."

"Oh come on," he laughed, "I'm sure the 'key grip assistant' could get work on another film. And the third guy from the left in the deli scene was excellent."

"Oh my gosh, the deli scene," I groaned. "I thought this movie was about alternate galaxies! WHY was there that deli scene?"

"I have no idea," Mike chuckled, "but it was hysterical, nonetheless."

"Agreed," I smiled. We had just reached the front of a small, quaint Italian restaurant.

"I thought we'd eat here?" Mike asked, slightly unsure.

"Sounds great," I agreed, and he led me inside. It wasn't too crowded, just a few people here and there, and we were immediately greeted by an unnaturally blonde, extremely pretty hostess. She grinned upon seeing Mike, gave me an appraising look, and scoffed at our hands clasped together.

"How are you this evening," she said in a sultry voice that, no matter how much practice I had, my vocal cords could probably never produce, "a table for two?"

"Yes please," Mike said, smiling pleasantly. She led us to a table in the dead center of the restaurant that was set for four. She quickly cleared away two place settings, and wished us a pleasant evening. "Too bad we didn't get something more private," Mike grumbled at the hostess's back as she walked away.

"Oh, that's okay," I said, picking up my menu. I scanned it silently for a moment, trying to ignore the fact that Mike was staring silently at me over the top of his. "Um, I think I'm set," I said, folding my menu shut and setting it in front of me.

"Oh, um…" Mike said, quickly scanning the menu that he hadn't yet glanced at, "me too." He shut his quickly and set it in front of him. Just then our waitress came over; she was tall, slim, and had short black hair. All of these gorgeous girls were going to give me a complex. Mike seemed to notice her good looks, too.

"Good evening," she said sweetly, "can I start you off with something to drink?"

"I'll have a coke," Mike said quickly, "and Bella?"

"I'll have a coke, too," I said quietly.

"Okay two cokes – I'll be right back with those and some breadsticks," she said and left. I tried to ignore the fact that Mike watched her walk away.

"So um, tell me about your family then," Mike said pleasantly.

"Well, you know my dad, of course," I began, unsure of exactly how to define Renee. "My mother just got remarried to a guy named Phil; he's a minor league baseball player, so she's traveling with him while he tries out for different teams. That's why I came here."

"Oh, so they sent you to Forks?" Mike asked, gnawing on one of the breadsticks our waitress had just dropped off.

"Well, not exactly, I decided to come," I said with a shrug.

"Well I'm glad you did," he smiled, and I smiled back.

"Are you ready to order?" Our waitress asked, hovering closer to Mike's side of the table than mine.

"Sure," Mike said. "I'll have the spaghetti."

The waitress turned to me. "And for you?" she asked.

"Um, mushroom ravioli, please," I said quietly, handing her my menu.

"I'll put that right in," she said with a smile at Mike before walking away.

"Friendly girl," I mumbled, raising my eyebrows slightly. Mike didn't seem to hear. I exhaled a giant gust of air. "So you've lived in Forks your whole life?" I asked.

"No, I actually moved from California when I was ten," he explained, shoving another breadstick into his mouth. "Now my parents own a sporting goods store just outside of town – I work there after school."

"Oh, that's cool," I said politely, remembering that he had mentioned that to Charlie earlier. I liked Mike, but to be perfectly honest this one-on-one dating thing wasn't all that fun. He didn't say a whole lot, and all the chivalry he displayed in school had yet to make an appearance anywhere on our date. My heart sank a little as I realized that maybe it was just a show for Eric and Tyler. Then I recalled the fact that the boy who was constantly on my mind had stared at me like I'd stabbed him for an hour on the only occasion I was anywhere near him. Here was a sweet, somewhat goof ball that I was tearing apart, favoring instead a dark, angry boy… what was wrong with me?

Throughout dinner we chatted some more, but never really delved into any deep topics. Mike wasn't really that kind of guy. He paid the check (leaving a rather generous tip for our not-so-helpful waitress, and we left. He held my hand on the stroll back to the car, and we watched the beautiful sunset over the bay.

"I have to admit," I said as Mike held my door open for me, "it _is_ beautiful here."

"Much more beautiful than Arizona," he laughed, as he climbed in too. "Unless you find _dirt_ beautiful, that is."

After that, I spent a good majority of the ride explaining how Arizona _could_ be beautiful without grass, and complaining that it was too green here. Mike laughed, but also looked at me like I was nuts.

We made it back to Forks just before ten. Mike pulled up in front of my house and sat, engine idling for a moment.

"So, this was fun," I said quietly, feeling my face flush.

"Let me walk you to the door," Mike offered.

"Um, okay," I agreed.

Walking up the front walk, Mike held my hand again. "So," he began confidently, "in a few weeks there's this dance."

"Oh?" I asked. With my balance issues, dancing is nearly impossible.

"Yeah, it's girl's choice, technically, but I was wondering if you'd like to go?" he asked.

"Oh, well… um, I don't dance," I explained, trying to let him down easy.

"Oh, but it wouldn't be so bad," he continued. "We don't have to dance the whole time, there's like, a dinner and stuff too."

"You've seen me in Gym class," I offered as an excuse.

"I know – and dancing will be much less dangerous than anything where you have a racket in your hand," he laughed.

"Umm…" I said, stalling for time. I looked up into his pleading blue eyes, and reluctantly agreed. "Sure."

"Awesome!" he said, excited. "I'll see you on Monday then!" He quickly leaned down and pecked me on the cheek, then practically sprinted down the sidewalk to his car. He waved as he pulled away, while I stood horror-struck on the front porch. What had I just agreed to? Dancing?? I would have to find some excuse to cancel later. Maybe I would actually break my ankle in Gym over the next few weeks, and I wouldn't have to fake an injury at all.

I made my way back into the house to find Charlie still sitting up in the living room, watching TV.

"Hey Bells," he greeted me, "how'd the date go?"

"It was fun," I said with a shrug.

"Gonna see him again?" Charlie asked.

"Um, I guess so," I replied. "We didn't make any plans, but I think we will."

"So is he like, your boyfriend now?" he asked.

"Kind of, I guess," I mumbled. "I'm gonna to bed," I muttered.

"Okay… goodnight Bella," he called, as I was already half way up the stairs.

"Night dad," I called back.

I made my way up to my bedroom and got ready for bed. I wasn't sure what to make of the date; on the one hand, he had been kind of adorable at times, but there were also the little things, like staring at the waitress and not getting the door for me. I drifted off to sleep, weighing the pros and cons of the evening and coming to no real conclusions about any of it.

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Okay I hope you enjoyed chapter five! Six will be coming soon, and PLEASE review. To be perfectly honest, if I don't get reviews that tells me no one is reading and I don't see a reason to continue writing. Again, chapter six coming SOON.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **Sorry it's been a while, I always say I'll get the next chapter up soon, and it ends up being a total lie. I was stuck for a while, but finally figured out where I was going so I picked it back up again. This chapter isn't totally exciting, I'll admit, but what is COMING is... I, of course, can't jump STRAIGHT to the fun stuff... things need to happen in order, so patience is appreciated. I love reviews so by all means, leave some!

**Disclaimer: **I am not Stephenie Meyer. Don't own any of it, just having fun with it.

**Chapter 06**

Bella POV

The next morning dawned sunnier than I had ever seen in Forks. I hopped out of bed and over to my window in disbelief. I yanked the window open, where it was all but welded to the frame after having sat unopened for years. A cool breeze whipped at my face, but the warmth of the sun overshadowed the cold. I went down to have something to eat in an ecstatic mood.

Charlie had already left of course – he had probably beaten the sun out of bed. I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and while I ate, debated how to spend the day. The first bit of sun I'd seen was definitely exciting, so I knew I'd have to spend at least some of my day outside.

I finished my breakfast, washed my dishes, and turned to stare at the empty kitchen, thinking. I decided to head outside and lie in the sun to read, and was fetching a blanket when a ring from the telephone startled me. It was still only 7:30am, so I couldn't imagine who would be calling.

"Hello?" I answered the phone.

"Bella, honey," I heard my mother gushing on the other end, "you had your date last night! I want to hear all about it!!"

"Mom, do you know what time it is?" I asked with a laugh.

"It's 10:30!" she cried, "why?"

"No mom, it's only 7:30 in Washington," I laughed again.

"Oh no honey, did I wake you up??" she asked.

"No, its fine I was already up," I insisted. "So… my date. Um, it was fun I guess."

"What did you do?" She asked.

"Well, he picked me up at five, we drove to Port Angeles and saw a movie at 6:15, then went to a little Italian restaurant for dinner. Then he brought me home," I explained.

"Did you hold hands? Did he kiss you?" she asked, her voice growing higher with her excitement.

"Yes, and no," I replied. "Er, well he did kiss me on the cheek, if that counts."

"Sort of," she said. "What movie did you see?"

"Um, I think it was _Galaxies Apart_, or something. It was ter-"

"I _loved_ that movie!" she cut me off before I could finish the word "terrible". I laughed. Of course she would enjoy that one. It was just ridiculous enough to be right up her alley. "So what did you guys talk about?"

"Um, a little of this, a little of that," I mumbled. "We didn't actually talk a whole lot." I explained about the music during the car ride and the waitress at dinner. "It was kind of weird," I admitted.

"Aww… but you like him?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think I do," I replied.

"Then cut him a little slack. I'm sure he was nervous too, and he's a boy – he probably isn't used to going out with a girl as middle-aged as yourself," she teased. "Are you going out again?"

"Well, there's this dance coming up," I said, "and he's asked me to go with him. For some reason I agreed."

"Bells… do you remember the dance lessons you had as a kid?" she asked, voice sounding horrified.

"Yeah, I know," I groaned. "I'm going to try to find a way to cancel. I don't know why I agreed in the first place."

"You'll figure it out," she laughed. "Maybe it won't be so bad. Only dance for the slow ones."

"We'll see," I laughed.

"Oh no, Phil's calling me," she said, "Oh gosh, he's got another tryout, I completely forgot! I've got to go honey!"

"Alright mom, I'll talk to you later," I replied.

"Bye Bells!" she said, "I love you!"

"Love you too, mom," I said, and hung up the phone.

I went out and sat in the sun to read for a few hours, but the dismal weather of Forks could only hold off for so long; all too soon the sun was disappearing behind the clouds, and a drizzle of rain chased me back indoors. I spent the majority of the weekend inside, doing laundry, cleaning, reading, or doing homework. I also took a trip to the grocery store to stock up since the house was dangerously low on food.

Monday morning dawned, and I knew I would need to take some sort of evasive action to keep Jess from going crazy. When I met up with her in Trig, before she could even ask about my date I suggested that she ask Ben to the dance. She giggled over it for a minute before agreeing to ask him the following period. I felt bad about Angela, but I couldn't honestly see any sort of interaction with Ben and Jess extending beyond the dance – they just didn't click. I figured I'd suggest Eric to Angela, and then figure out what to do about her and Ben after the dance was over.

Jessica led me into the cafeteria giggling hysterically; she had taken my advice and asked Ben, and he'd agreed. I felt an instant rush of guilt as I sat down next to a crestfallen Angela. She was doing her best to hide her disappointment, but I wasn't fooled.

"Why don't you ask Eric?" I suggested quietly. "I'm sure Ben is just going with Jessica to be polite, maybe you guys could go out after the dance?"

"I-I dunno what you're talking about," she denied flushing crimson. "Ben is just… I mean, we work on the paper together, that's all!"

"Okay," I smiled, letting her know she hadn't fooled me, "but really, what about Eric? He's nice enough."

She looked him over for a minute. "I suppose so. I'll catch him after lunch."

"Perfect," I said. "We should probably go dress shopping, too… I agreed to go with Mike, but I don't have anything even close to appropriate to wear."

"Dress shopping??" Jess cried, tuning into our conversation. "Oh we all have to go together! Let's go tomorrow," she proposed.

"I'm free," Angela said, checking her planner.

"Me too," I agreed.

"Who are you going with, Angela?" Jess asked. "I assume you're going with Mike?" she turned to me.

"Yeah," I mumbled, blushing. "He asked me on Friday." I quickly looked away, afraid of angering Jess over the issue, even though she appeared fairly excited about the prospect of attending the dance with Ben. My eyes involuntarily wandered to the table by the window where Forks' own personal supermodels typically sat and I was surprised to find the table empty. "It's not _that_ nice out," I wondered aloud, taking in the slight drizzle raining down outside. "I wonder where the Cullen's are."

"Maybe they've _all_ left!" Jess whispered, staring in the same direction as me. She could be counted on to love a good scandal, especially when it shed a negative light on someone who was generally found to be more attractive than her. "It's not nice enough out, I'm sure they wouldn't go hiking in _this_."

"Why would they just pick up and leave?" Angela asked, her expression doubtful.

"Why did_ Edward_ leave in the first place?" Jess countered. "They're all strange. It's good that they're gone." She turned back to face forward, effectively closing the subject. I couldn't immediately draw my eyes away from the empty table. First Edward's strange behavior, then his disappearance… now they were all gone? It couldn't be. And this couldn't have anything to do with _me,_ surely. "You never said who you were going with, Ang… spill it," Jess ordered, biting off a large piece of her pizza.

"I'm going to ask Eric," Angela whispered at her.

"Ohhh that's perfect!" Jess gushed. "We're going to have SO much fun." Just then, the rest of our group arrived at the table. Mike wedged himself in between Jessica and I, and put an end to our conversation until after class.

The following evening, Jess took me home after school instead of Mike, and the three of us headed off to Port Angeles. There was really only one choice for dress shopping, and we wasted no time trying stuff on. They talked me into a royal blue off-the-shoulder dress; it flared out at the knee, ending mid-calf.

"That color is amazing on you," Jess insisted, looking me up and down. "You're going to be stopping everyone dead in their tracks."

"Thanks," I blushed, turning scarlet. "Angela, I really like that one on you," I said. She was in a light pink gown that had spaghetti straps and clung to her very slim frame and went to her knees. "It's very flattering on you."

"Thanks!" Angela said with a smile, "I like it too."

"Now that leaves _me_," Jess said, walking back into the changing room with what seemed like every dress in the store. We watched her try on dozens before she settled on a classic black, strapless number. Then we hit the shoe and jewelry departments and completed our ensembles. I managed to find a pair of heels that weren't too dangerous for me, and were the exact same shade of blue as my dress. I opted to wear a classic pearl necklace I had at home, so I saved a little money on jewelry. Jess and Angela both found stuff to match their dresses as well, and we headed out to the car to stow our stuff.

"Are there any bookstores around?" I asked, looking up and down the street.

"There's one down that way," Jess said absentmindedly gesturing down the block. "I'm starving."

"Me too," Angela agreed. "Oh, but Bella I wouldn't bother, that shop is very new-age-y, and I dunno if that's really your thing."

"Oh, definitely not," I agreed. "Oh well, I may just have to make friends with Amazon then," I sighed.

"Yeah, or take a trip to Seattle," Angela suggested.

"Let's not do anything fancy," Jess said as we headed down the boardwalk. "Let's just find a little diner or something."

We were just walking past the place I'd eaten with Mike. "This place is cute," Angela suggested.

"Yeah, this is where we went on Friday," I said quietly. I wasn't sure how well the topic would go over with Jess.

"Oh yeah, on your date with Mike," she said. "So how'd that go?"

"Um, good," I said. I didn't want to get into the details. "We saw a movie, and had dinner. It was fun."

"Good," Angela smiled.

"Oh screw it," Jess said suddenly. Angela and I both turned to eye her quizzically. "Let's just go to McDonalds."

"Yeah, I think I spent enough money for one day," Angela agreed. We went to McDonalds and then drove home, chatting about the dance and things until before I knew it, Jess was pulling up to my house. I was surprised that the ride had flown by so fast; I expected a long, boring ride home. I had actually enjoyed hanging out and gossiping for a while, which was strange to me.

"Hiya Bells," Charlie called from the living room as I shut the front door, hauling my dress in behind me. "Any luck with the shopping?"

"Yeah, I found a dress," I replied, holding up my days purchases. "Shoes, too."

"Good," he mumbled, never taking his eyes off the game on the screen.

"I'm going to go finish up some homework," I said, and headed for the stairs. I hung my dress carefully on the back of my door and set the shoes next to my closet. I eyed the dress for a moment, thinking about the forthcoming dance. I felt guilty that Jess was now taking Angela's crush to the dance because of me, but I was certain things would straighten themselves out in due time. I pulled my books out of my bag and settled down with my Math homework for the rest of the evening, finishing quickly and heading to bed.

The rest of the week was more or less uneventful, though still full of tension. Everyone feigned happiness fairly well, but I wasn't fooled; there was enough tension at our lunch table to cut with a knife. There was joking and laughter, but no one was even remotely close to relaxed. Eric watched Angela, who watched Ben who Jess was constantly giggling at while Mike watched me and Jess kept half an eye on _him_. I was never the center of this sort of drama in Phoenix, and I hated being the center of it now. I spent the remainder of the week buried in my books whenever possible, hoping that things would calm down once the dance was over.

Edward POV

Once my family had joined me in Alaska, time seemed to have some meaning again. Days were no longer monotonous chores that I couldn't escape from. Having my family with me allowed me freedom from Tanya's moods, and seemed to make everyone marginally happier.

I thought things were going fine until on our last day, playing chess with Carlisle, Jasper caught my attention.

_Edward, _he thought, _we really need to have a conversation about something. It can either be one-sided right now, or, if you want to go talk outside, surrender your queen and end this game quickly._

I thought it over for a minute, and decided outside would be better, where I could voice my own opinions on whatever subject he needed to address. I moved my queen and placed it carelessly in front of one of Carlisle's pawns so he could claim it.

He eyed my move speculatively for a moment and thought, _Edward, if you don't want to play anymore you could just say so._ He raised an eyebrow, carefully reading my face.

I chuckled too low for anyone to hear. "Actually, I do need to go speak with Jasper about something in private," I mouthed, not making a sound. Carlisle's eyes moved quickly to Jasper's face, then around the room. Everyone sat in different positions of relaxation; Tanya was pretending to read a book in the corner, though her mind was actually off in space. Alice and Jasper were sitting together with their heads bent over some sort of puzzle, pretending to be interested. Carlisle realized that we couldn't have our conversation with everyone in the room, and so he put on a fake smile, and drew his attention back to the game.

"Ha, now Edward, you can't _always_ win at chess," he said, capturing my queen.

"I can't believe I didn't see that coming," I replied, allowing the sound of disbelief to color my tone. I made a strategic move, but I could still easily lose after having allowed my queen's capture. I moved one of my rooks into place in front of my king, but left a path wide open for one of Carlisle's bishops. He seized the opportunity and slid his bishop into place.

"Checkmate!" he said confidently.

I allowed myself to appear disgruntled at my loss, and jumped up from the table. "I'm going for a walk," I seethed. I moved quickly out the door and into the woods. I didn't go far, and listened back into the house for the sound of Jasper's voice.

"I think I'm going to go catch Edward and see if he wants to hunt later," Jasper mumbled to Alice, and I heard him rise and leave the house. Alice was already seeing how our conversation would play out in her mind, so she wasn't fooled but she let him go without a word. I heard the sound of his approaching footsteps as he made his way to where I waited a mile or so away.

In a matter of seconds, Jasper appeared in the woods beside me. "Are we far enough not to be overheard?" he asked.

I listened for a moment, and could still clearly make out both the thoughts and conversations occurring within the house. "Better run a bit further," I advised, and we took off into the woods together.

After running for at least five minutes to a point where I was sure we could not be over-heard, I stopped and turned to Jasper. "So what's up?" I asked.

"Have you been sensing anything well… odd, about Tanya's thoughts?" he asked.

I thought back, trying to remember anything at all that she had been thinking lately. Unfortunately, I had done my best to completely block her out; inside her head was a rather unpleasant place to be these days, particularly for me. I suddenly realized that Jasper would be picking up on all of this negativity too, in his own way.

"Honestly, I've been trying to keep out of them," I admitted. "We haven't spent a whole lot of time together since our, er, conversation."

"Well, I've been picking up on her emotions a _lot_ since we've been here," Jasper said. "They're stronger than any emotions I've felt in a long time."

"And?" I asked impatiently. I didn't really need him dragging me out into the middle of the woods to tell me that Tanya wasn't very happy with me. I could ascertain that much, and quite a lot more, by myself.

"Well since you've been staying out of her head, maybe you haven't noticed… her mood isn't just angry. It's practically malicious. And it's cunning, and devious. I think she's up to something," he warned, his eyes flashing with his intensity.

"That's ridiculous," I scoffed. "Sure she's angry, but she's not going to act out."

"If you've been avoiding her head, how can you be so sure?" he countered, raising one eyebrow at me.

"Because that's not Tanya," I replied. "She's angry, but she'll get over it."

"I don't think so," Jasper pressed, his voice rising in volume. "Edward, listen to me. You _should_ tune into her thoughts on this, trust me. I don't know what she's plotting, but she's got something up her sleeve. She's hiding an ace somewhere."

"This is crazy," I said, shaking my head. I couldn't believe it. "Tanya is _not_ planning _anything!_ Now, let's get back, I think Carlisle wants to leave soon."

"Edward," Jasper sighed once more, clearly exasperated, but I wasn't willing to hear anymore."

"_Let's go_," I stressed again, and took off into the woods before he could protest any further.

When we reentered the house, all eyes turned on us; I was practiced enough in lying that it was no issue. "We opted not to hunt," I said as nonchalantly as I could. "We're leaving soon anyhow."

"Oh, I wish you didn't have to," Kate said sadly. "It's been so nice to see you all!"

"Yeah, well Carlisle's got to get back to work," Rose said, but I knew better, and so did everyone else.

"And Rose wants to get home in time for the dance," Emmett said, elbowing her lightly.

"Dance?" Tanya asked, raising her eyebrows.

"They're _fun_," Rosalie protested.

"I always forget that you're in high school," Kate chuckled.

"Rose likes to get all dressed up and abuse the self esteem of the entire junior and senior class populations," Emmett laughed.

"I can only imagine," Irina laughed.

"The dancing is fun too," Rose tossed in. Emmett laughed at her, but wrapped and arm tightly around her waist and pulled her close to him. She leaned into his embrace and kissed him on the cheek.

"I _did_ want to get back on duty tonight," Carlisle admitted, and it was settled that we'd pack up our stuff and be on our way.

About ten minutes later, we had the cars packed and were ready to go. For once I let someone else take the wheel; Jasper drove the Volvo with Alice in the front, leaving me in the back to think. No one else seemed to understand the possible ramifications of my return to Forks. They all thought it was about time; no hint of impending danger ever crossed any of their minds for a moment.

In my mind, however, it was the priority… my only focus. What would happen when I came face to face with Bella Swan once more? Would I be responsible for her death, or could I control myself as well as my family seemed to think I could? I rested my head back on the seat and settled in for a long drive of contemplating my impending fate.

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End of chapter six!! So I'm really quite excited about writing the next bit, so I *promise* an update will NOT take so long next time. **REVIEW PLEASE**. :)


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **See, I promised I'd get this chapter up soon! It's a bit shorter than usual, but I decided this was the point I wanted this chapter to end and thus, it is. I have a feeling chapter 8 is going to come pretty quickly as well, so hang in their and please review!! :)

**Disclaimer_:_** I am not Stephenie Meyer, I do not own these characters... I am just playing with them.

**Chapter 07**

Bella POV

Suddenly, it was Saturday and I couldn't figure out where the week had gone to. Was it really time for the dance already? Charlie and I had just finished eating dinner, and I was in my room staring at my dress terrified and wondering what I had gotten myself into. Suddenly, the phone ringing made me jump.

"Hello?" I answered.

"_Bella_," Jess breathed into the phone. "Are you excited? You must be excited, I'm _so excited_," she gushed. It made me want to rip my hair out.

"Yeah, I'm just starting to get ready," I said, taking the shoes out of their box and laying them on the floor beneath my dress.

"_JUST STARTING?"_ she screamed, sounding scandalized. I checked the clock – it was 6:30 and the dance started at 8:00. Mike was coming at 7:45 to pick me up, so that gave me just under an hour and a half to get ready.

"Yes?" I said uncertainly.

"Oh my gosh, I've been getting ready for _hours_," she said. "I got my hair done, then a mani/pedi and my make-up done. I'm gonna go shave my legs once more, just in case, and moisturize and get ready. Are you gonna have enough time?"

I had thought an hour and a half was more than enough time, but now I wasn't so sure. I'd never gone to a dance in Phoenix before, and suddenly I felt like I had no idea what I was doing. Maybe I was going about this all wrong.

"I think so?" I muttered.

"Well, I mean you must've at least already done your nails and stuff, and hair, right?"

"Well, I was just about to hop in the shower and wash my hair," I admitted. "And I mean, my nails look okay," I said, examining them. They weren't horrendously chipped or anything. "I didn't paint them or anything, but they look fine to me."

"Oh my gosh Bella, you're like, not even a _girl_," Jess sighed. "Do you need me to come over there and help you get ready? I could just toss on some jeans and run over there…."

"Nah, really Jess, I think I'll be okay," I said.

"But… you're _just_ washing your hair? _Please_ let me help you."

"No really… I'll be okay," I assured her. "I'll see you at the dance."

"Okay," she said, but her voice was so unsure. I suddenly felt like someone who had called into a suicide hotline and was insisting I'd put the pills away and go back to watching TV. Jess didn't sound okay leaving me alone.

"I promise I'll be fine," I said again.

She scoffed exasperatedly. "Fine, Bella," she sighed, clearly fed up. "I'll just see you there then."

"Bye," I muttered, and hung up.

I had a very brief panic attack, where I wondered what I was getting myself into. Clearly, I hadn't given this whole dance thing enough thought. I was supposed to get my hair and nails and make-up done? I was just planning to take a shower and throw my dress on before Mike got here. Remembering that Mike seemed completely enamored with me when I was in jeans and a sweater with no make-up reassured me that if I was wearing a dress and heels, that should be more than enough to hold his attention for the evening. It might even make Jessica back off if she thought she looked better than me. Suddenly, I could breathe again.

Eager to get the whole evening over with, I grabbed my things and took a shower. As always, the familiarity of the hot water and my strawberry shampoo calmed me right down. When I was finished, I toweled off my hair until it was only slightly damp, and started to blow dry it on a light setting. My hair dried into natural waves that cascaded down my back. I examined it in the mirror and shrugged. That looked pretty nice to me. I grabbed some hair clips and pulled a few pieces back into place.

I returned to my room and checked the time. 7:15. I briefly considered that maybe I _should_ paint my nails, but two things stopped me. One, my mother had always painted my nails for me; since we were more like friends than mother and daughter, we always did that kind of stuff together. I didn't trust myself to paint them nicely enough for this evening. Two, I didn't even _have_ any nail polish. It had been one of those things I opted not to pack, since I hadn't planned on ever _really_ enjoying myself during my self-inflicted sentence in Forks. Sighing, I realized that at least _filing_ my nails wouldn't kill me, and I certainly had the time for it.

Nails completed, I slipped into my dress and heels, put on my pearl necklace, and examined myself in the mirror. I had to admit, I did look better than I had anticipated. I grabbed the bag holding my incredibly tiny make-up collection and brushed on a little mascara and powder to prevent my face from looking too shiny. I also grabbed a small tube of lip gloss. I applied a layer to my lips, then went to stash it in my purse before I realized that I didn't even _have_ one to bring tonight. Maybe Jessica was right. Maybe I _wasn't_ even a girl. Girls are supposed to be good at this stuff.

I applied a slightly thicker coat of lip gloss, unhappy that it would have to last me through the evening. I wondered if it would be rude to ask Mike to carry it in his jacket pocket, but then sighed and left it on my desk before heading downstairs.

"Hey Bells, you look, um, great," Charlie said when I reached the bottom of the stairs.

"Um, great?" I asked.

"You look _beautiful_," he amended, and I laughed.

"Thanks Ch- dad," I said.

Fortunately, I was spared any kind of uncomfortable talk because at that moment, the doorbell rang.

"I got it," I said moving towards the door.

"Um, wait," Charlie said uncertainly. I raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you supposed to like, make a grand entrance down the stairs when the boy gets here, or something like that?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'm not Cinderella," I said, and continued down the hall to answer the door.

"You look gorgeous," Mike said, shaking the rain off of the umbrella he carried. I peered out behind him. Of course it was raining, what had I expected?

"Thanks," I replied, flushing crimson. Mike smiled warmly at me.

"Hi Chief Swan," he called behind me, where Charlie stood leaning against the door frame and looking utterly disgruntled. I prayed he had given Mike enough of the third degree the last time he had taken me out, and apparently he had.

"Drive carefully, and don't be out to late," he grumbled.

"Yes sir," Mike answered.

"Oh, and I suppose have fun," Charlie added.

I threw my white sweater over my dress and followed Mike out the front door. He led me down the sidewalk to his car, and held the door open for me. I slid in, and he ran around to his side and hopped in.

"This is gonna be great," he beamed, starting the car and cranking the heat all the way up. "I can't believe it's so cold."

"Seriously," I mumbled, rubbing my arms for warmth.

When we arrived at Forks High School, the lot was already almost full. I grumbled at the walk we'd have to make in the rain. I couldn't move too fast in heels, but Mike was unbelievably patient with my pace. "I'm not going to be able to dance well, either," I warned as we made our way up the slick sidewalk of death.

"I'll keep a hold on you," he promised, leading me into the gym.

We dropped off our coats and the umbrella at the coat check table, and looked around the gym. It was decorated in hundreds of silver, black, and white balloons, with dozens of tables and chairs in the same color scheme. It looked about as nice as I imagined the Forks High School gym _could_ look. In the center of the dance floor, I could already see an uncomfortable-looking Ben being gyrated upon by Jess. A little ways away, Angela stood dancing awkwardly with Eric. Lauren and the others surrounded them.

"Let's go," Mike said, taking my hand and leading me out into the center of the dance floor to stand between Angela and Jess.

"Bella, you look _amazing_," Angela said, staring at me with a stunned expression on her face. "It must have taken you forever to get ready."

I flushed crimson. "Actually, you look okay, considering you only spent an hour getting ready," Jess said, correctly Angela's assumption.

"All that only took an hour?" Angela asked incredulously. I felt even more blood rush to my face and I nodded. "Amazing. I'm definitely jealous," she said, smiling warmly.

"Yeah, I got the hottest date here," Mike said with a smirk, wrapping an arm around me. Jess looked disgruntled, but she was the only one. She turned her attention back to Ben and continued to molest him in the center of the dance floor. "Let's dance!"

The moment I had been dreading for weeks had finally arrived: I had to dance. Terrified that I would physically harm anyone who came too close, I opted to keep my feet planted in one place. I swayed my arms a bit and kind of bobbed up and down, just bending my knees. Surely, this little movement wouldn't hurt anyone.

Mike barely seemed to notice my abysmal dancing. He was going nuts trying to show up Tyler and Eric, who had moved in uncomfortably close and were trying like heck to capture my attention. I was so focused on not injuring anyone around me that I barely even noticed them.

Maybe it was just that time, or maybe the DJ had been watching me and taken pity: either way, the music slowed significantly and everyone on the dance floor began to pair off. Mike smiled and placed his hands on my hips. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and we began to slowly twirl around in place.

"I'm glad you agreed to come with me," Mike said happily. "You seemed a little unsure, and I didn't want to make you go with me if you didn't want to go…"

"Oh, no, it wasn't you," I assured him. "It's just… well, you've seen my dancing tonight. And you've seen me in gym class. I'm just trying really hard not to hurt anyone."

"Well, I don't know about _physically_ hurting anyone," Mike teased, "but you certainly are breaking a few hearts."

I glanced around, and found that both Eric and Tyler were twirling slowly with their dates, but their eyes were on me. "Oh wow, now that's uncomfortable," I muttered.

"What was that?" Mike asked.

"Nothing, just… it's fine," I said, pressing my lips tightly together.

As the songs progressed, we didn't talk much but we slowly drifted closer and closer together. Mike now had one of his wrists holding the other behind my back, and where they were lying, they felt dangerously close to my butt, but I could tell copping a feel wasn't his intention. He was being really incredibly sweet all evening. My arms were now wrapped more tightly around his neck, and my chin rested on his shoulder. Our heads were just barely touching. I was actually really comfortable with him, and it seemed like all of the initial awkwardness of our dating was slowly slipping away. I vaguely wondered if he would kiss me before the end of the evening. My stomach fluttered a bit as I realized just how likely that occurrence was.

"Thanks for talking me into this," I said softly. It had grown incredibly quiet on the dance floor as a slow, soft ballad played.

"Anytime," Mike said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "I should talk you into things you're dreading more often if _this_ is how things will turn out."

I sighed and leaned into his shoulder. "This evening has been kind of perfect," I admitted.

Somehow, divulging that I was having a good time was the signal for the universe to stop making sense, because at that moment, the doors to the gym flew open, and five shadows made the most stunning entrance I had ever seen.

The lights from the parking lot blocked out all of their features, so only silhouettes were visible, but it was clear that the people now entering the gym were beyond flawless. Everyone had stopped dancing and turned to stare.

It was the Cullen's and the Hale's. All five of them.

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There's chapter seven! I hope you enjoyed it, and I swear I'll get eight up soon. As always, **please review_. _**They inspire me to write faster - seriously. They also make me happy :)


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **I am so sorry this chapter took so long to upload... I've been fighting with this site for days because it would not let me long in, then I couldn't edit my documents or upload, and I don't even know if it's going to let me post or not - keeping my fingers crossed. I'll try to get chapter 9 up soon, but I hope you enjoy this one (I love it and had fun writing it) and **review _please_.** :)

**Disclaimer: **I am not Stephenie Meyer, I'm just having fun with her characters.

**Chapter 08**

Edward POV

We arrived back in Forks, and immediately Alice wasted no time in dressing us all. "Put this on," she demanded, handing me a shiny black garment bag that no doubt held yet another tuxedo, probably Armani.

"Alice, I have at least a dozen of these in my closet upstairs," I groaned, unzipping the bag and peeking inside. Yup, Armani. "Besides, I'm not going to the dance."

"Yes you are," she said so matter-of-factly that you'd think free will was optional. "We're all going."

"Why would I go?" I asked, tossing the bag toward the armchair nearby. Naturally, Alice caught it before it touched the chair.

"Don't you understand how _nice _these things I buy for you are Edward?" she growled. "If you toss it like that, it's going to wrinkle and I'll have to buy you another one!" The thought of just _ironing_ something that was wrinkled was a concept beyond Alice's comprehension. She preferred to just get rid of any clothes that weren't perfect by donating them to a nearby charity.

I plowed on as if I hadn't heard her. "I don't want to go, and I don't have anyone to go with anyway," I said. "Seriously, you have Jasper, Rose and Em have each other… what use is a dance if you're alone?"

"You could ask someone _there_ to dance," she insisted. "Not every girl there is going to have a date."

I scoffed at the idea. Asking a normal human to dance? There were so many things wrong with that plan and she knew it.

"Seriously Alice," I insisted. "I'm _not going_."

"Edward," Alice practically growled; her voice became low and dangerous. "Read my mind if you have to, but you are _going_ to be at that dance." A vision of the five of us bursting through the door like supermodels filled my head. Crap. I dunno how, but according to the vision, she _was_ going to get me there. Sometimes I wondered if she would fabricate visions just to get me to do things, assuming that once I saw a vision of myself doing it, I would assume I was resigned to doing it and I'd go along with it. However, tonight I wasn't much in the mood to fight Alice; I had enough to worry about.

"I really hate you sometimes," I muttered, and snatched the garment bag from her hand. She squealed something inaudible and jumped on me, hugging me fiercely. "Get off," I warned. She promptly jumped off and pushed me toward the stairs.

"Go change!" She gushed. "We're already late!"

I took my time walking up the stairs and to my room. I could have flown up there in seconds, of course, but I took a normal human pace that Alice just couldn't handle. "EDWARD," she yelled from downstairs, "HURRY UP BEFORE I HURT YOU!"

I grumbled, but picked up the pace. I went into my room and slipped into the custom made tuxedo that naturally fit me like a glove and made me look like a movie star. Of course, given the girls of Forks High, I could show up in sweat pants, a t-shirt, and trucker hat, and they'd probably _still_ think I looked like a rock star. I wished people weren't so shallow; even if I could find a way to make a relationship with a human possible, there certainly wasn't anyone in Forks worth pursuing. Except, maybe…

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and hurried back down to the living room where I found the rest of my "siblings" gathered at the bottom of the stairs looking flawless. "Finally," Alice sighed, and all traces of her previous angst disappeared. "Let's go!" I headed for the Volvo, but Alice grabbed my hand to stop me. "Oh no," she protested. "You might highjack us all and we'd _never_ get to the dance. No, Jasper is driving."

I sighed and climbed into the backseat beside Rosalie and Emmett. I hoped that putting in an appearance at the dance would be enough for Alice, and that she wouldn't make me stay long. As we drove to the high school, I grew exponentially more nervous about seeing (and smelling) Bella Swan again.

We arrived at the high school parking lot, already packed with cars, just minutes later. We walked up the sidewalk as a group, with Jasper on the far left, followed by Alice, then me, then Rose and finally Emmett on the right. So much for trying to blend in… we were definitely making a grand entrance.

As we reached the double doors of the gym, Jasper and Emmett both pulled one open and the five of us entered the gym together. The doors opening in sync caused a small vacuum that sucked some of the hot air from the gym out and whipped it around us, blowing our hair around and making our entrance all the more dramatic. I could only imagine how we looked to all of our classmates in the gym.

I was distracted from all previous thought when the breeze also blew a distinct scent into my face. I automatically tensed as the intoxicating smell of Bella Swan swirled around me, almost clouding all of my other senses. It only took me a fraction of a second to find her: she was in the dead center of the dance floor, slowly swaying with Mike Newton. I examined her closely, and her wide brown eyes were examining me too. She looked like something had knocked the wind out of her, and for a moment I was overwhelmed by the desire to pull her away from Mike and whisk her off in a different direction. Immediately I banished the thought; so she was dating Mike Newton. It was none of my business, and it _wasn't_ a surprise, because Alice had already told me. Why then, did it bother me so much to see his arms wrapped around her, dangerously close to being inappropriate?

Slowly, I became aware of the thoughts around me. For a moment, there hadn't been anything but her. Hushed whispers of "oh my gosh, Edward Cullen is back!" radiated throughout the gym. Most people were fascinated; only one ridiculous mind stood out in the bunch.

_Oh Edward Cullen,_ Jessica thought. I flinched, waiting for what I knew must be coming. _Since Bella's taken, I'm definitely the prettiest available girl in the room. Maybe he'll ask me to dance if I lose Ben!_

_Not likely_, I thought to myself. Then I tuned in as I heard Mike.

"You look a little green Bella," he said, and my eyes immediately shot to her face. It was true, her color was suddenly terrible. "Do you want to go sit down?"

"Yeah, I think so," she said quietly, and allowed him to lead her away to a table in the corner of the room.

_I wonder what everyone is whispering about,_ he thought. He hadn't noticed our arrival, as his back had been turned to the doors when we came in. "I'll go get you some punch," he offered, and began to walk away toward the punch table that was situated at the exact opposite end of the gym.

"Actually, do you think you could find me some water?" she called after him.

_Where am I supposed to find water? I'll have to go to the cafeteria or something,_ he groaned in his head. However, he smiled sweetly at her and said, "sure thing. I'll be back in a minute."

Suddenly, something compelled me to go talk to her. Mike would be gone at least a few minutes, and I wanted to try to get over my aversion to her scent. Hopefully a room so full of people would make her scent seem a little less potent to me. If not, this could get really ugly, really fast.

"May I join you?" I asked, gripping the back of the chair next to hers. Her face paled, but she nodded.

"Sure," she said, and I pulled out the chair and sat down.

"So, are you enjoying the dance?" I asked conversationally, and internally kicked myself for not coming up with a better conversation topic. I was too focused on her scent to really even pay attention to what I was saying. I was, however, more prepared; I had hunted very recently so I wasn't really thirsty, but she was still intoxicating. I inhaled only tiny bursts of air very occasionally, trying to get used to it without overwhelming myself.

"It's not as terrible as I thought it would be," she admitted. I just nodded awkwardly and we sat in silence for a moment. "So, you were gone," she said quietly, and I was surprised at the intensity in her eyes.

"Uh, yeah," I began slowly; I had completely forgotten to come up with an alibi for my absence and return.

_What the hell is he doing here?! _ Mike's angry thoughts reached me across the room. Crap, he'd found water faster than I thought he would. I quickly (for a human) stood from my seat and backed away.

"It was nice speaking with you Bella," I said. "Mike," I said with a nod in his direction.

_He better not try to dance with her,_ Mike began swearing at me in his head. "Edward," he said sternly. "You're back."

"Yes, I am," I admitted. The news had to reach the rest of the school somehow. "And I must be going. Bye," I said, focusing my eyes on Bella only, pretending Mike wasn't even there.

I strolled purposefully away from them, listening to Mike's unpleasant thoughts as I walked away.

"Was he bothering you?" he asked, handing her the water.

"Not really," she said, and I could see through his thoughts that her expression was slightly confused. "He didn't really have much to say."

_Edward_, I heard Alice call my name, and Mike left my thoughts for the moment. I turned and saw her dancing in the middle of the floor. _Come cut in,_ she insisted, and beckoned me over with one hand. I shook my head lightly. _Come on, please? _She insisted. I sighed and walked over.

"May I cut in?" I asked Jasper, who willingly stepped away. "Don't go far," I murmured as he made his way toward one of the vacant tables. "This shouldn't take long."

"Edward," Alice scolded me. We were now conversing at a volume much too low for anyone to be able to hear, except the five of us. Not that anyone was dancing within ten feet of us anyway.

"No, Alice, look," I began, exasperated. "I came to the dance. I put on the stupid tux. I did everything you wanted me to. I even spoke to Bella –"

"–if you can even call _that_ a conversation," she interrupted.

"–and I dealt with her scent alright. You can't ask any more of me than that."

"You should ask her to dance."

"Are you serious?" I asked incredulously. "Not that I couldn't take Newton with my left pinky, but no. For one thing, I don't know if I could actually stand being that close to her – and touching her! – and for another, it might make her life incredibly awkward. That short conversation got Newton's defenses up. He's livid, and is ready to physically drag her away from me if I attempt to speak to her again."

I checked on them over Alice's head, and saw that Newton was sitting with one arm protectively slung along the back of her chair, absolutely glaring at me. Bella wasn't paying me any mind, which irritated me a bit. How could she possibly have such a profound impact on me when I was apparently little more than a blip on her radar? Once more, it drove me very nearly insane that I couldn't read her mind. I wished I could've heard what she'd been thinking when I had gone over to talk to her.

I caught Jasper's eye from where he sat along the wall and jerked my head slightly, encouraging him to come over. He quickly made his way over and pulled Alice back into his arms. _Did you kick Newton's puppy or something?_ Jasper thought. _He's absolutely livid_.

"I'm aware," I murmured. "It's… complicated."

_Stealing Bella?_ He thought, and grinned at me.

"Of course not," I hissed. I turned on Alice. "I'm going home; I dare you to stop me."

She scoffed, and looked crestfallen. "Edwarrrrd," she moaned.

"No, Alice," I insisted. "I'm leaving."

I walked quickly toward the double doors we'd come in through not long before, but was stopped by Mr. Molina.

"Mr. Cullen! I'm surprised to see you here," he said. "I did get the paperwork that you were transferring back, but I didn't think you'd be jumping straight into school activities quite so soon."

"Yes, well my sister was quite insistent that I attend the dance," I said politely, plastering a smile on my face. "However, I'm really not feeling that well, so I'm actually heading home now."

"Ah, well, feel better Edward," he said, pushing the door ajar for me. "I'll see you in Biology on Monday then."

"Yes sir," I said, and quickly darted out the door.

Once outside, I started to head back out to the parking lot and out of sight where I could more easily dart into the trees and run home. However, the farther I got from the gym, the stronger the desire to turn back grew. Somehow, I didn't want to leave when Bella was in there with Mike Newton. I wanted to watch them.

I quickly darted back through the parking lot, moving so fast that there was no chance of my being seen. The gym only had very high windows and I didn't want to risk anyone looking up and seeing my face peering in from such an unnatural height, so instead I leaned on the side of the brick and just listened. I could still see her through the thoughts of her date and those around her, and still clearly hear all of the conversations occurring within the gym; that would have to be enough for now.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked her. She sipped from the bottle of water he'd found for her, and she still looked quite pale.

"Fine," she smiled politely, but I could tell that she was faking it. She didn't seem to be a very good liar. Mike, however, was completely fooled. "I haven't been feeling well," she admitted sheepishly, "and I'm sort of tired from all the dancing."

_She does look sort of pale,_ Mike thought. _I wonder if I should take her home._

_Stupid Bella, stealing _everyone's_ attention, _Jessica thought bitterly from across the room. _Edward was only here for _two minutes_ and he didn't even acknowledge anyone but _her_._

Oops. I didn't want anyone to _notice_ my attention to Bella. Certainly, Jess must have only noticed because her attention was so focused on me.

_Now she's got Mike wrapped around her little finger, _her thoughts continued. She made a disgruntled noise and pulled her date closer. _Well at least I've got Ben._

_I wonder if Bella is okay, _I heard from the concerned mind of Angela. _She's looking paler than usual._

I noticed her color and that Angela was correct: she had grown paler since I had left the gym. She looked like she'd just seen a ghost. I resisted the urge to run back into the gym and to pull her away from Newton and get her out of there. That would probably terrify her and scare her away.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Mike asked. _I hope she says no… it's still way early._

Unfortunately for Mike, he had no such luck. "That's probably a good idea," Bella said weakly. I just couldn't get over how fragile this girl was. She looked like one touch might break her.

"No problem," Mike said, smiling nicely and helping her to her feet. His thoughts weren't along the same lines. _Damn,_ he swore. _I wonder if I have enough time to come back after I drop her off… I _suppose_ I could dance with Jessica or someone…_

The desire to punch him was overwhelming. Too bad I knew that punching him would kill him, undoubtedly.

She said goodbye to Angela and Jessica, and Mike escorted her outside. I hid in the shadows for a moment until they had passed on their way to Mike's car, and then took off into the woods. Call me a masochist, but I felt compelled to follow them. I knew where Chief Swan lived, so I ran through the woods in the most direct path I could find. I easily beat them there and once more hid in the shadows, waiting.

Mike's car pulled up to the curb and he hopped out and pulled her door open for her. Well, he was chivalrous, I had to give him that much. He held her hand as he walked her up to the door, and I fought against the pangs of jealousy that his touching her inspired. How could I be _so_ envious of his relationship with a girl who I barely knew? I couldn't understand why I was so enamored with her: I only knew that I was.

"I'm sorry we had to leave early," she apologized, her expression chagrined.

"It's quite alright," Mike assured her. "I hope you feel better."

"I think sleeping will help. You can always go back to the dance," she offered. "I hate to make you miss it because I'm not feeling well."

_Aw, hell, I'm not going back to the dance,_ Mike thought to himself. _There's no point being there without her._

"There'd be no point in going back there without you," he smiled.

Damn it. I hated that Newton kept proving how nice of a guy he was. I still didn't think he was good enough for her. Not that _I _was good for her, either. Newton was actually a _better_ choice than I was. At least he couldn't easily kill her on accident. She was just so _fragile_.

I wasn't sure how it had happened, but at some point during my grumbling, Mike had leaned in and wrapped his arms around her waist. She looked a little shocked and shaky, but she closed her eyes and he closed the distance between their faces. I couldn't watch this. I turned away and tried my best not to listen to their kissing, which was nearly impossible to block out thanks to my incredible hearing.

Fortunately, the kiss didn't last long. I heard Bella take a step back and I turned back to face them again.

"Thanks, for everything," she murmured, her face flushing crimson. It was adorable.

"I had a great time," he said, smiling. "Feel better." He grabbed her hand and softly planted a kiss on the back of it. "Goodnight."

"Night," she whispered as he made his way back down the walk. She sighed softly, then turned and headed back into the house. I sighed. She really did seem happy enough with Newton… I decided right then and there that I would stay away from her. She was happy, and I could hurt her if I got too close – in more ways than one. It would be difficult and would take every once of my self control, but I _would_ make Bella Swan believe that I was indifferent to her. It would be the only way to keep her safe.

I turned and ran back into the woods the way I had come, running toward my house and away from the girl I wanted but could never have.

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There's chapter 8! I hope you enjoyed it... like I said, I'll try to get as much up as I can before I go back to school next Friday (ahhH!) and I lose my life to a practice room and a recital hall. **REVIEW PLEASE. **Thank you! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **So it's been forever since I last uploaded; I'm so sorry about that. I haven't had ANY time to write, what with my recital and all that jazz. Thankfully, that's over now (and went fabulously, with my pretty dress and what not) and now I have a little breathing time before I start student teaching! I think I'm going to be able to get up at least a few more chapters before that consumes my life, but even when it does I think I'm still going to be writing regularly - I find that I quite miss it when I'm so occupied by other things. Chapter 10 will definitely be up within the next day or two, it's only a few minutes' work from being ready to publish. A completely unrelated note, if you haven't read any of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, I just read them all and I've got to say I quite enjoyed them. They're a more mature version of Twilight. I'm also reading Moby Dick at the moment, and I'm enjoying that as well :)

**Disclaimer: **I do not own any of this - Stephenie Meyer does. I'm just borrowing her characters for my own amusement

**Chapter 09**

Bella's POV

Edward was back? I collapsed onto my bed without even removing my shoes and just stared at the ceiling. I thought he had moved to Alaska, what was he doing back? My mind raced, analyzing everything that had happened since he'd walked into the gym.

He came over and said hello to me, and asked how I was enjoying the dance. Then he went and danced with his sister, and left. He had barely paid me any notice, so why was my heart pounding at the thought of him? He was polite – which was more than I could say for my first encounter with him – but he was almost totally indifferent this time. He was being nice. There was something about him that sent my mind and my heart racing, and I could barely breathe. I couldn't even understand why. I wondered if he was really back for good, or if he was just visiting for the dance. Somehow, I doubted the latter; he would've stayed longer than two minutes if that had been the case.

Suddenly, I felt extremely guilty. Mike and I had just shared our first official kiss, and yet the second I got back to my room, I was focused on Edward Cullen. I was such a terrible girlfriend. I thought about Mike for a few minutes, but my mind was officially distracted by Edward. He was just so mysterious and strange. I desperately wanted to know what everything meant.

_Stop being stupid_, I told myself. _You have Mike. He is wonderful, and amazing. Edward is… unattainable. Don't even go there. _

I changed out of my dress and into my pajamas and climbed into bed. I stuck a random CD into my CD player and curled up under the covers. I focused on every lyric, and tried to drive thoughts of Edward Cullen from my mind long enough to get some sleep.

Naturally, I still dreamt of Edward. I was dancing with Mike in the gym when Edward came over to us, cut in, and twirled me away across the floor. Mike chased after us, but Edward and I were spinning so fast that Mike couldn't keep up. Suddenly, Edward and I were standing in the middle of the woods, and his family stood around watching us. "You smell amazing," he murmured in a voice too beautiful to be real. He bent down slowly, smiling seductively and lowering his mouth to my throat….

I awoke with a start to see that it was light again. I checked the clock. 8:00am. Later than I thought it would be. I went downstairs, filled a bowl with cereal, and grabbed the phone to call my mom. It was already 11:00 in Jacksonville and I was sure she would be going crazy wanting details about the dance.

"Tell me all about it!" she gushed, without bothering to even say hello. I laughed.

"It was fun," I said.

"Charlie said you got home really early, what happened?" she asked urgently. Ugh, she had spoken to Charlie? I wasn't sure if I wanted to tell her about my encounter with Edward.

"Um, yeah… I was really tired… I'm not used to dancing," I muttered. It was definitely a valid excuse, even if it was so far from being completely true that it was almost a lie. I had left because of Edward.

"I can imagine. You haven't danced since you were about eight," she said. "So, how is the boy?"

"The boy?" I squeaked. Had she read my mind??

"Yeah, um, Mike!' she said, as if it took her a moment to remember his name. "You went with Mike, right? How was he?"

"He was great," I recovered quickly. "He kissed me goodnight."

"Ooooh!!" Renee squealed into the phone. "How was it?"

"Nice," I said.

"Is there something you're not telling me?" she asked, her voice suspicious.

"Of course not," I said a little too quickly. "I'm just a little tired. I just woke up."

"Okay," she said. "I'm glad you had fun. And that you didn't hurt anyone with your dancing." I heard a hint of a smile in her voice, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks, mom," I said sarcastically. "What a vote of confidence."

She laughed. "We both know you can be unintentionally dangerous honey."

"I wish I could argue, but I can't," I sighed.

"Alright, I've got to be going hon, but I'm glad you had a great time! I'll talk to you soon!"

"Bye, mom," I said. "I miss you."

"I miss you too!" she gushed. "Bye Bella!"

I hung up the phone and thought over the call. I hated not being honest with my mom, and I hadn't exactly _lied_, but it sort of _felt _like I had. I left out the details she would've been most interested to hear. I tried to banish the thought from my mind. I had a feeling tomorrow would be strange enough without worrying about my mom, too.

Monday morning, Mike picked me up for school and things seemed completely normal. Somehow, I had been expecting things to be weird. Maybe I was just letting this Edward business go to my head too much. I reminded myself of how indifferent he had acted at the dance, and that he wasn't interested so there was no point messing things up with Mike.

We held hands walking into the school, and he gave me another quick kiss before I walked in the door to my first period class.

"Why did you leave early?" Jessica immediately demanded the second I sat down.

"Good morning to you too," I grumbled. "I was tired, and I didn't feel well."

"You had Mike all over you," she accused. "You had him in the palm of your hand, and you left early?" She narrowed her eyes, and suddenly, I could see gears turning in her head. "Oh. My. God."

"What?" I asked, freaked out by the intense stare radiating at me. What was going on in her head?

"You and Mike left early. Together."

"Yes?" I said, more a question than a statement. She waggled her eye brows at me. "Oh, God, no, it's not like that!" I insisted when the pieces clicked into place.

"Oh come on Bella, I'm not stupid," she gushed, leaning in towards me now to whisper. "You and Mike wanted to be _alone_." She said "alone" as if it were a dirty word, speaking just above a whisper. "So where did he take you?"

"Home!" I insisted, staring deliberately away as I flushed scarlet.

"He kissed you this morning," she accused again. "It was very casual, so you two must've already done _something_ more meaningful." She wiggled her eyebrows some more.

"Jess, I'm serious," I moaned. "I wasn't feeling well, he took me home, kissed me goodnight, the end!"

"Bella, you're such a prude," she scoffed. "I mean, honestly… you had Mike alone and all you did was kiss him? What could be better than making out with Mike Newton?" she asked, but I could tell this was a rhetorical question. She let out a sigh and stared off out the window into the pouring rain.

Better than kissing Mike? I sighed and turned to stare out the classroom door, and as if it were a sign from a higher power, Edward glided past, looking like a God with rain dripping off his perfect hair. He glanced in the room as he passed, and for the briefest moment, his eyes met mine. They were a rich topaz, almost like butterscotch; I had never noticed before. Last night at the dance it had been quite dark, and the only time I had seen them before then was that first day of school, but all I remembered of that day was that his eyes were dark and intense. I couldn't be sure about their color.

The morning flew by like any other, though perhaps I may have been caught off-guard by more questions than usual, preoccupied as my mind was. I hated to admit it, but Edward was the reason for my distraction. I didn't have any classes with him, but my brain was fixated and there wasn't much I could do.

At lunch, my nerves got the better of me and I found that I really wasn't all that hungry.

"Feeling okay?" Mike asked protectively, watching me pick at rather than eat my bagel. He had one arm around my shoulders and his chair was pulled almost uncomfortably close. I had to remind myself that he was my boyfriend, and this was _normal_ behavior to keep myself from sliding my chair away to give myself a little space.

"Still a little queasy," I muttered. Allowing him to believe it was just sickness was easier than admitting to my boyfriend that someone else was filling my stomach with butterflies.

He rubbed my arm comfortingly. "I'm sorry to hear that. Anything I can do?"

"No, I'll be fine," I said with an attempt at a smile. He began arguing with Eric about something, and I returned to staring at my bagel as I slowly destroyed it. I was determined not to even look at the Cullen table.

"Bella!" Jess hissed, elbowing me hard in the ribs a few minutes later.

"What?" I grumbled, rubbing where her elbow had made contact. "That hurt."

"Shut up," she insisted. "Edward Cullen is staring at you."

"I doubt it," I mumbled, unwilling to look in his direction.

"Oh my gosh Bella, just _look_!" she hissed, keeping her voice low.

My eyes darted to Mike. He wasn't paying any attention. I quickly peeked at the Cullen table. Edward was deep in conversation with one of his brothers (the tall, scary one – Emmett?) and didn't seem even vaguely interested in anything surrounding him.

"He's not staring at me," I argued, rolling my eyes.

Suddenly, Mike was back in the conversation.

"Who's not staring at you?" he asked, his tone almost accusatory.

"No one," I said quickly, going back to destroying my bagel.

"Edward Cullen," Jess insisted, cutting me off. "And he _was_ staring at her. He just stopped when she looked at him."

Whether done subconsciously or not, Mike's grip tightened around my shoulders as he eyed the Cullen table. His eyes narrowed, and he didn't look too happy.

"Mike, please," I said trying to pacify him. I attempted to smile, but I'm not sure how successful I was. "He wasn't staring at me, and he never even crossed my mind until Jess brought him up."

That seemed to appease him. He pecked me on the cheek. "Of course. Sorry to over-react," he said sheepishly, but there was something off about his tone. I had a feeling he hadn't really let this go.

Throughout the rest of the lunch period I didn't speak much, choosing rather to slowly reduce my bagel to crumbs without ever consuming a bite. "Come on Bell," Mike said, grabbing my backpack. I hadn't even heard the bell ring, but sure enough the cafeteria was half-empty by the time I stood and carted the remains of my bagel off to the trash. Mike dutifully grabbed my hand as we made our way down the hall, but I could tell there was something off about his mood. He was way too quiet, and way too stiff.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked, bumping him in the side with my elbow. He looked down at me, his face lined and hard, but almost instantly sighed and relaxed. He tried to smile, but it was half-hearted.

"I'm just not all that enthusiastic about the newest addition to our Biology class," he admitted, his expression chagrined. "_Your_ new lab partner," he added with a significant look.

_My new what? Oh God_, I thought as we rounded the corner into the Biology classroom. As if on cue, my lab partner lifted his angelic face from his notebook and his topaz eyes met mine. Of course, how could I forget that first day of class? My "new lab partner" was Edward Cullen.

* * *

So this chapter was a little shorter than usual - my sincerest apologies, but if it is any consolation, chapter 10 WILL be up very soon, I promise! Please review, they make me happy and inspire me to write and post chapters faster :)


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** So as promised, here's chapter 10! Yaaaay for posting only a few days later. I had nothing to do today except go to the post office (which was glorious - the doing nothing, not the post officing) so I got some writing done. I'm already half-way through chapter 11 and I know exactly where chapter 12 is going so with any luck I'll get those both up rather soon. Please review! I love getting those [Review Alert] emails, they make me happy :) Enjoy!

**Disclaimer_: _**I am not Stephenie Meyer and I do not own any characters that you recognize from the Twilight Saga. I'm just having fun with them.

**Chapter 10**

Edward POV

Sitting in the cafeteria with my family, I tried my hardest to grant Bella her privacy, but no one is perfect.

"What's happening to me, I'm getting sloppy," I mumbled under my breath to my siblings, staring determinedly out the window at the typical Washington downpour.

"What do you mean, 'sloppy'?" Emmett asked, flipping an apple back and forth from the back of his hand to his palm.

"Jessica Stanley just caught me staring at Bella," I admitted, and were it still possible for me to blush my face would've been a shocking shade of crimson.

"Why were you staring at that mundane human in the first place Edward?" Rosalie asked coldly.

"I don't know," I sighed, meeting her gaze. "She even just admitted that I never even crossed her mind until Jessica mentioned my name. Maybe coming back here was a mistake."

"No it wasn't," Alice interjected fiercely, and she gave Rose a cold stare.

I ruffled her hair affectionately. "You're the only one who thinks so, sis," I said.

"No I'm not," she protested. "I'd bet all of our cars that Bella is excited to see you here too."

"Not _my_ car," Rosalie said venomously.

"Come on Rose," Emmett said, rubbing her shoulder playfully. "Be nice."

"I'm serious!" Alice insisted. "I still see good things happening here. I can't read her mind of course, but I can just _tell_."

"Look," Jasper said pointedly at me, as if he hadn't heard a single word anyone else had said in the last ten minutes. "Here's the thing. Whether or not she's happy to see you? Regardless of how you feel about her? These things don't matter. The only important thing to keep in mind is to keep a level head and don't let her scent bother you. The rest is trivial, but _that_ is what is important."

Of course he was right. What was I doing, letting my feelings get in the way? This girl brought out something in me that was so beyond normal I couldn't even begin to comprehend. Just then, I had an epiphany. What if I was absolutely wrong? What if she wasn't bringing out something abnormal in me… what if she was making me feel something completely _normal_ for the first time?

I was just opening my mouth to ask my siblings about the things they had experienced as they discovered that they had feelings for someone when the bell rang and silenced me. I thought it was just as well; I could only imagine the reactions (especially from Rose and Alice) if I so much as breached the topic of a possible attraction to the girl. I gathered my things and set off to Biology where I sat to await her arrival.

_I can't believe she has to go sit next to Cullen_, I heard Mike seething as he and Bella made their way into the classroom. _If he so much as looks at her, I'll… urgh, I dunno what I'll do. He doesn't _look_ too tough, but then again he seriously gives me the creeps. Who knows what he's capable of. I'll give him a good talking to, at least._

I tried my best to suppress a laugh, but a small smile still managed to creep across my face.

"See you after class," Mike said to Bella, and kissed her quickly on the mouth. I tried to hide any visible reaction to the display. When Bella turned around to sit down she looked slightly uncomfortable and I cheered at the thought.

"You look happier than the first time I saw you," she noted, settling into the seat beside me.

"I am," I agreed, but I still found myself gripping my hands together tightly beneath the lab table. Her scent was almost overpowering, and I found myself feigning breathing to avoid both awkward questions and inadvertently inhaling too much of her scent.

"What made you come back to Forks?" she asked politely. I had already received the question from quite a few teachers today (the students were either too scared or too intimidated by me to ask outright, though most of them were extremely curious to know) so my story was well-rehearsed.

"Well, I went to Alaska after receiving a scholarship to a prestigious all male boarding school. We have family up there as well, so it seemed like an excellent opportunity. However, after a while I found that the school didn't suite me as well as I had initially thought it might – and I also missed my family here quite a lot – so I opted to return to Forks to finish high school," I explained.

"Wow," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "Your tale sounds extremely well rehearsed."

"Excuse me?" I questioned, taken aback. How could she possibly know my story wasn't true?

"I just meant you sound like you've already explained yourself a lot today, what with everyone wondering where you've been," she explained, looking embarrassed.

"Oh. Sorry," I said. I wasn't sure what else to say. "You're actually the first student to pose the question today. My teachers have all inquired, but no one else seems to care."

"That's odd," she mumbled, fidgeting with the fringe on her notebook. "These people have known you for years. I only met you the one day. No one else wondered where you'd gone?"

"Well, I suppose plenty of rumors flew in my absence, and none of them good," I sighed. "No one cares enough to find the true reason I was gone."

"I care," she blurted, and immediately flushed scarlet. A horrified expression crossed her face and she turned quickly to face the front of the room.

_Why is Bella blushing?_ I heard Mike thinking, and looked to see him twisted around in his chair, eyeing us. _And why is Cullen staring at me? _I averted my gaze._ He had better not be saying anything to upset her… or hit on her. _

"It's a wonderful day for science!" Mr. Molina exclaimed from the front of the room, claiming the class's attention and forcing Mike to turn back around. "Since we've been talking about genetics for the past week, now we're going to test your knowledge. Each lab pair is going take one of these packets," he said, waving a thick stack in front of the class, "and we're going to do some genetic experimentation!" He drifted throughout the room and began distributing a packet at each lab station. "We are going to calculate the genetic probabilities for your offspring!"

Whispers and giggles rang through the classroom.

"Calm down," Mr. Molina called over the noise. "You will fill in the squares for each trait and calculate the probability of each possible outcome. For example, Mike has blue eyes and Eric has brown." Mr. Molina turned to the chalkboard and drew out a Punnett square with their given traits, and explained how to fill in the calculated information on our answer sheet. "If you can't remember which trait is dominant and which is recessive, there's a big chart on page 143. Get to work."

"Mr. Molina," Mike protested, "do we really have to do this with two guys? Couldn't we divide up and maybe choose our own lab partner so we're all paired off guy/girl?" His gaze drifted hopefully back toward Bella once more.

"Mr. Newton, I'm not asking you to actually have a baby here. You can just be guaranteed your hypothetical child will be a boy, that's all. Get to work," Mr. Molina insisted. "Oh, and come up with a name for your hypothetical child!" he said with a laugh. I was happy to see that Mike was looking uncomfortable at the idea.

"Um, shall we?" Bella asked uncertainly.

We slowly began working our way through the sheet, predicting whether the child would have a cleft chin; attached or unattached earlobes; a round or pointy nose. Bella barely spoke, other than to comment on a trait once or twice. "People have attached earlobes?" she asked at one point, and cast her gaze around the room looking for a real life example.

"Yes, but it's a rather insignificant detail," I explained. "As you've just proven, people rarely notice it."

We continued on down the page, until we came across hair and eye color. For some reason, the question caused Bella's face to flush once more.

"What is it?" I asked, at a loss for what could've caused her to blush.

"I was just thinking, with my boring brown hair and eyes, any children I have would have to inherit those stupid dominant traits. My kids are going to look plain," she sighed, chagrined.

"Brown isn't boring," I insisted before I could stop myself, "and your looks are anything but plain."

Instantly, I regretted having spoken. For one thing, I hadn't known any human being was capable of flushing the shade of red Bella was turning now. For another, I was now quite unwillingly subjected to Mike Newton's thoughts.

_Back here for twenty-four hours and he's already hitting on my girlfriend?_ His thoughts were livid. _I cannot believe that pretty boy; I swear I'll kill him!_ Mike was actually rising to his feet and turning in our direction.

"Going somewhere Mr. Newton?" Mr. Molina asked.

Mike scowled. "No sir," he sighed and sat back down, but not before shooting daggers in my direction.

It cracked me up to see how Newton was acting, but one glimpse at Bella's face and I didn't dream of laughing. She had her right palm against her forehead and was staring down at her shoes. "Are you alright?" I asked softly.

"Fine it's just… it's nothing," she sighed as she grabbed the worksheet and pulled it toward her. She began scribbling in answers furiously, apparently determined to finish it alone.

"Your boyfriend doesn't like me." It wasn't a question. She looked up at me, but didn't say anything. "He doesn't like that we're lab partners."

"Why would you assume that?" she asked.

"I can tell he doesn't," I said.

"Okay, so you're right," she whispered, but said nothing else.

Her silence was killing me. How did she _feel_ about the fact that her boyfriend found me to be such a threat? Did she think he was correct in feeling that way? Had she given him a _reason_ to feel so threatened by me? Was he just being a typical jealous boy, or was there more to it? I couldn't gather answers to appease me from Newton's head… I needed to know what _she _was thinking too, but I couldn't get in her mind.

"Is there any reason he _should_ hate me?" I asked quietly, staring straight into her eyes.

"He-he's probably just ah, jealous of you, or something," she stammered, and her eyes looked almost as if they were glazed over. Well that was strange.

"Jealous of?" I prompted softly, leaning in slightly. Just then, I noticed her breathing was rapid and shallow, and her heart was pounding. "Are you alright?" I asked, alarmed. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

She swallowed hard. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Alright everyone, pass in your sheets and let me read all about your future children!" Mr. Molina called from the front of the room.

"Shoot," Bella sighed, the strange trace she had been in seeming to have broken, "we never decided on a boy or a girl, and didn't name it."

"Let's have a girl," I proposed. "And we could name her…?"

"Let's name her after my mom," Bella suggested. "Renee."

"Renee it is," I said, and filled in the name at the top of the sheet. "And how about her middle name is after _my_ mother," I suggested. "Esme."

"Renee Esme Cullen," Bella considered thoughtfully. "That's really pretty, I like it." For the first time since I had met her, Bella gave me a beautiful, genuine smile. It blew me away for a moment, but being so much quicker than humans, I recovered myself before she could notice a thing.

"Excellent," I smiled. "Renee Esme it is."

Just then, Mike appeared at her elbow and my smile disappeared. He possessively gathered her things for her while thinking all sorts of nasty thoughts about me. "Come on Bella, let's go to Gym," he said forcefully, seizing her hand.

She gave me a half-hearted smile. "Bye Edward," she said, and allowed herself to be towed from the classroom.

"See you tomorrow Bella," I sighed before gathering my things and turning to leave.

I knew she was coming before I actually saw her, so I sat to wait on one of the benches outside the cafeteria for a moment.

"That went really well, I thought!" Alice beamed, running up to me just a little too quickly to pass as human.

"Shush," I said, patting the bench beside me. "I know you're going to insist on talking about it, so get it out of your system," I sighed.

"Newton's going to put up a fight," she warned.

"Physically or just verbally?" I asked. I wasn't worried that getting punched by Newton would have any impact on me – my face would easily shatter his hand – but I was more concerned about Bella's reaction to us fighting.

"Not clear yet," she admitted. "At this point, he'd love to punch you in the face when you're not looking, but he hasn't actually decided to do that yet. I've seen a few different scenarios play out so far. Listen in on him for a minute; I'm sure you can hear him from here."

Taking my sister's advice, I opened my mind and listened for him. Sure enough, he had two things on his mind: Bella, and myself. He was watching Bella attempt to swing a badminton racket, but he wasn't watching her face. It infuriated me to see Bella through the eyes of someone so superficial, so I actually laughed out loud when, out of nowhere, Bella swung wide and nailed him in the head with her racket.

_Ow!! Damn it!_ He thought to himself. _I wonder if she would've nailed Cullen in the head too. Not that she did it on purpose. I wonder if he can even _play_ any sports. He's so pale… ugh… I wish I could punch him right in the face._

"You were right about him wanting to punch me in the face," I commented to Alice.

"Of course I was," she replied.

_Maybe I should just confront him after school about it,_ he considered. _I wonder if – shit! – I don't think there's any way I could confront him without Bella around… maybe I should say I have somewhere to go tomorrow and have her drive herself to school. That way, I can talk to Cullen when she's not around…_

"Oh joy," I mumbled. "He's going to confront me tomorrow after school. Wonderful."

"Just make sure he doesn't break his fist on your face," Alice warned.

"Like I would even let him touch me," I scoffed. "I have this under control." I sighed. "I don't feel like going to class, I'll wait for you guys in the car."

"See you in a bit," Alice said, dancing off to her last class. I vaguely wondered what excuse she would give – she was now 15 minutes late.

* * *

That's it for chapter 10! I hope you liked it, **please review**_,_****and chapter 11 will be up very soon! :)


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Wow, it has been so long since I last updated this story. I am sincerely sorry about that - I'm not entirely sure what happened, except for student teaching, graduation, and a few paid orchestral gigs haha. Somehow, this story got set down, and the longer I put it off the less inclined I felt to continue working on it. However, I just got back from spring break (yay Grad school), during which time I re-read my entire story as a refresher, and figured out exactly where I want it to go. I'm excited to get back into writing again, and excited to be continuing this story. If anyone actually stuck around this long to read the rest, I appreciate it! If not, thanks to all my new readers! Chapter 12 should be up fairly soon, so please read and review! Thanks! :)

**Disclaimer**_:_ I am not Stephenie Meyer, I do not own any of the Twilight characters, I am just having fun with them.

**Chapter 11**

Bella POV

"Brown isn't boring," he said, "and your looks are anything but plain."

Instantly, I could feel my face flushing what was sure to be an obnoxious shade of red.

"Going somewhere Mr. Newton?" Mr. Molina asked. I looked up to see that Mike had risen from his chair and turned in our direction.

"No sir," he grumbled, and glared at Edward loathingly as he sat down. I wasn't sure if I could stand this insanely jealous side of Mike. It made me feel nauseated. I put one palm against my forehead and stared at a spot on the floor.

"Are you alright?" Edward asked quietly.

"Fine it's just… it's nothing," I mumbled, and pulled the worksheet toward me. I wanted to just finish it and get out of the classroom before Mike actually did something about his jealousy.

"Your boyfriend doesn't like me," Edward pointed out. I looked up at him, pensive for a moment. I wasn't sure how honest I wanted to be with him; I barely knew him. I didn't say anything. After a moment, Edward continued. "He doesn't like that we're lab partners."

"Why would you assume that?" I asked.

"I can tell he doesn't," he said.

"Okay, so you're right," I sighed, but opted not to say anything else. I didn't want him to read into how much I felt for him, even though I couldn't put a finger on why.

"Is there any reason he _should_ hate me?" Edward asked softly. He stared deeply into my eyes when he asked this and I got lost for a moment. It was like he had mesmerized me or something. I was completely dazzled, and almost forgot how to speak.

"He-he's probably just ah, jealous of you, or something," I stammered. "Jealous of?" he prompted softly, leaning in closer to me. I could barely breathe, and it felt like any moment my heart was going to pound clear out of my chest. "Are you alright?" he asked, sounding concerned. "Do you need to go to the nurse?"

I swallowed hard and mentally reminded myself to breathe. It wouldn't surprise me if he could actually _hear_ my heart racing at a thousand miles an hour. "I'm fine," I insisted.

"Alright everyone, pass in your sheets and let me read all about your future children!" Mr. Molina called from the front of the room.

"Shoot," I sighed, returning to reality. "We never decided on a boy or a girl, and didn't name it."

"Let's have a girl," Edward offered. "And we could name her…?"

"Let's name her after my mom," I suggested, missing her terribly for a moment. "Renee."

"Renee it is," he said, and filled in the name at the top of the sheet in his perfect, elegant script. "And how about her middle name is after _my_ mother," he suggested. "Esme."

"Renee Esme Cullen," I considered thoughtfully. Esme was a really beautiful name, but sounded extremely old-fashioned. However, I quite liked the way it meshed with Renee. "That's really pretty, I like it." I smiled at him, and he instantly smiled back.

"Excellent," he said. "Renee Esme it is."

Suddenly, Mike appeared at my side, looking sullen. He scooped up my books in his usual manner. "Come on Bella, let's go to Gym," he said angrily, seizing my hand.

For a moment, I wished it were Edward gathering my things and ushering me off to class. I quickly banished the thought and tried to smile at Edward as we left, but I didn't think I got it quite right. "Bye Edward," I said, and let Mike lead me from the classroom.

"See you tomorrow Bella," he said quietly, and turned away.

Mike and I headed off to the gym and I sighed. I hated Gym. I headed into the locker room and changed quickly, then headed out to meet up with my extremely brave badminton partner. I can't imagine why any guy would willingly subject himself to my badminton playing… all I could come up with was that Mike must really like me a lot.

Things were actually going okay for most of the class… until I nailed him in the head with my badminton racket. "Ohmygosh Mike I'm so sorry!" I gushed. "I don't even know how I did that!"

"It's okay," he mumbled, after swearing under his breath. He rubbed his head lightly. "Occupational hazard of being your partner." I flushed crimson and for the rest of the period was terrified of even _attempting_ to hit the birdie again, fearing I would instead take out my partner and do even further damage to his cranium.

The drive home after school was a quiet one. Mike hadn't been very chatty after I accidentally hit him in the head with my racket, but I couldn't tell exactly what was on his mind. Somehow, I didn't think Gym class was his main concern today.

We got back to Charlie's house, grabbed a snack, and set up in the living room to work on our homework. Any other night, I think our homework session would've allowed Mike to cool off and forget about whatever was bothering him. However, I didn't have that sort of luck today; naturally the only homework we had was Biology.

"I don't know why we need this stupid class," he grumbled. Then suddenly, his face lit up. "We should drop it and just take a study hall!"

"We can't do that," I laughed, unsure of what to say.

"That's true, we wouldn't want your lab partner to miss you," he said scathingly, shaking his head.

"Oh Mike, come on," I sighed, putting my hand lightly on his arm. He quickly turned to face me, anger lighting up his face.

"Doesn't it bother you even a little bit?" he asked incredulously.

"Doesn't _what_ bother me?" I asked.

"That he likes you! That he hit on you today!" he cried, slamming his book shut. Okay, apparently we were going to fight this out right now.

"He _doesn't_ like me," I insisted. "And he never hit on me."

"'Your looks are anything but plain,'" He quoted mockingly, though where Edward's voice had been gentle and reserved, Mike's sneered mockingly. "What do _you_ call that? He shouldn't be saying that sort of thing to _my_ girlfriend!"

"'Your'?" I replied, picking up on the keyword in my mind. "Mike, we're dating, but I don't _belong_ to you! Don't you trust me at all?"

Something in my face seemed to cause Mike to step back and evaluate the situation. He sighed, and most of his anger was gone. "I'm sorry," he admitted. "I'm not being fair; it's not your fault. I _do_ trust you… its Cullen that I don't trust."

"Then you've got to give me a little credit," I insisted. "It takes two to tango, and I'm really not much of a dancer." He laughed, and it seemed that the situation had defused. I pressed my luck. "Why do you hate Edward so much anyway? I've only even seen him a few times, and he seems nice enough to me."

Mike's smile faded instantly. "Oh he does, does he?"

"Oh Mike come on, I just mean that –"

"No Bella, don't 'oh come on' me… why are you defending him?" he yelled.

"I'm not defending him!" I yelled right back. I could feel the familiar tears of anger welling up in my eyes, and I fought hard to keep them from spilling over.

"Whatever, Bella," he spat, jumping to his feet and gathering his books. "I have an appointment after school tomorrow, so you're going to have to drive yourself to school."

"Where are you going?" I couldn't believe he was being so ridiculous about this.

"I'm going home. I'll see you tomorrow," he grumbled and practically sprinted out the door to his car.

"Green is an ugly color, Mike!" I yelled at his retreating back as he climbed into his car.

I made my way back into the living room and sat down with my Biology homework with a sigh. This was ridiculous. Mike implying that I had feelings for Edward, Mike treating me like a piece of his property… the more I thought about it, the more upset I got. He was my boyfriend, not my father. He didn't have the right to tell me who I could talk to.

I finished up my Biology homework quickly; the process was much more expedient when I did not have to keep stopping to explain things to Mike. When I was finished, I went into the kitchen and set about boiling some water for spaghetti. Charlie would be home in half an hour or so, and I hadn't even thought about dinner until that moment.

Just as I was pouring the pasta into the boiling water, the phone rang. I jumped, and splashed boiling water onto my hands. "Brilliant," I mumbled. I wrapped a cloth around it quickly and grabbed the phone. "Swan residence."

"Bella, I'm sorry," Mike began groveling immediately. "You were right about all of it, I was jealous and stupid and it's not your fault and I'm sorry. Forgive me?"

It was hard to doubt the sincerity that rang in his voice. I instantly felt sorry for him, though I was still upset about all he had said. "I forgive you," I sighed, "but you can't keep acting like this."

"I won't, I promise," he gushed. "I'll make it up to you tomorrow, you'll see!"

"Oh, you don't have to do –" I began, but he cut me off.

"Nonsense. I want to. I was a jerk, but I'm not a jerk all the time – you'll see. I've gotta go to practice now though, I'll see you tomorrow!" he insisted, before hanging up the phone.

I hung up and dashed back over to the stove to try and save the pasta from sticking to the bottom of the pot. It was slightly stuck, but definitely still salvageable. I sliced up a loaf of Italian bread and tossed some salad into bowls and set them on the table. A few minutes later the spaghetti was ready and Charlie was pulling in the driveway. I dished the pasta up as he was walking in the door.

"Smells great, Bells!" he said, plopping into his chair at the table. I poured us each a glass of milk and sat down myself. "How was school?"

"Interesting," I mumbled.

"Oh?" he asked.

"It was nothing," I sighed. "I'm terrible at badminton," I said quickly to divert attention away from my personal life. Naturally, Charlie assumed that was what was getting me down, and he laughed it off.

"Yeah, you get that from me, I'm afraid," he chuckled. "As long as no one gets hurt."

"I did hit Mike in the head with my racket," I said sheepishly.

Charlie burst into laughter. "Newton's a tough kid though, he can take it."

"I suppose so," I said.

The rest of dinner was more or less idle chatter. Charlie settled down to watch a game, and I retreated to my room to read since my homework was finished. Try as I might, I couldn't focus on what I was reading. My mind kept wandering back to all that had happened that day with Edward and Mike.

Mike had said Edward was hitting on me… did I believe that? Edward didn't seem like the sort of guy who would "hit on" anyone, but he had complimented me right? He said my looks were "anything but plain." He wasn't exactly calling me beautiful or anything, but it sort of sounded like he was complimenting me. Still, one compliment didn't make Mike right: it just made Edward a gentleman. He definitely struck me as the door-holding sort. Yes, he was just a nice guy. Mike was getting carried away.

Still, I couldn't help but let my mind wander. My romantic fantasies did not include Mike sweeping me off my feet but rather featured Edward. Maybe I should look at this as a _sign_. Around Mike, I felt normal. I sometimes got the butterflies feeling when he did or said something particularly sweet, but altogether, he just made me feel comfortable; sometimes slightly uncomfortable when he got too close or possessive.

Then there was Edward. Edward _always_ gave me butterflies. I was getting butterflies now, just _thinking_ about him when he wasn't even anywhere nearby. I wasn't sure where he lived, but given his family and their money, I didn't think they'd live anywhere around here. Charlie made a comfortable living, but the Cullen's were in another class entirely.

Eventually, I gave up on my reading and decided to just try and get some sleep. Not for the first time, I drifted off with images of Edward and Mike floating around in my head, competing for my attention.

Well there's chapter 11! Sorry it was short, but I hope you enjoyed it! Please review, and chapter 12 will be up soon :)


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